No Real Endings
by AZ1087653
Summary: For every one person, each decision that we have made has resulted in a split, and a brand new time line occurs. Do any of these "fabled" timelines end the same? If you choose to read the following, please read the introduction, or it will not make sense.
1. 1 Fate

Greetings again, from the land of my brain, which presently is probably running so fast, I need to take a suppression pill or something. If you are looking at reading this story, you will not understand it if you haven't read Thirteen Hours and all of the wonderful typo's that plague the pages. This story is a direct result of how the other one ends. A few of my friends have forgotten how to use their own imaginations.

This story is going to follow the same set of requirements as the last one, mainly because I didn't want to deal with trying to change it from one person to another. In addition, I didn't just choose one path, I chose three.

If the writing is in this format, no special additives, then this is reality one. (Keep in mind this is just one of countless ways this story could have gone. We can thank KC for how part of these timelines pan out.) You chose to go back to the Autobots.

_If the writing is italicized, like this, then you chose to return home and not have any contact with the Autobots. This is reality two._

**Just to make this story harder to follow, I threw in this option. Instead of majoring in Sociology, you chose to listen to your parents and become a doctor, as discussed in the chapter Acceptance in the prior story. If the wording is in bold, this is reality three. **

Speaking within a bond is distinguished by "".

I know this will confuse some people out of their living minds because there are three different stories to follow, but I am not sorry I chose this, because it's fun. Just remember these are just three possible outcomes. In the multiverse there are countless others.

Also, this story may seem like it is crawling with OCs. This is not the case. If you recognize a human name from the G1 series, then they were in the G1 series. All mechs with names have a toy they are based on. Check Wikipedia for any unknown character or unknown information.

I will not warn for anything that might seem offensive, since there is no real definition of offensive that fits everyone. You, dear reader, have been warned.

Oh! I don't own – and depending on who you are, no one really owns anything, we're just here borrowing till the next stage of life. : )

GGGGGGGGGG

* * *

_**No Real Endings**_

* * *

Fate

There are many speculations as to whether our choosing one event over another is a fluke, or it is meant to be. This being, because no matter what we choose, there is an alternate of ourselves who chooses the other. This is where the multiverse comes in. Parallel happenings that split off when we make said choice and then there are two.

More choices follow and then there are multitudes. For every one person, each decision that we have made has resulted in a split and a brand new time line occurs. An infinite number of realities plowing through space and time together, each the product of a different choice.

Do any of these choices we make result in the same outcome? What if a choice you made long before, in which you are traveling down a completely different path also resulted in the same outcome as the two other choices? Is it fate that you were supposed to end up at the same point, or is it happenstance? Do the realities ever overlap and run together?

What if three choices you had made during the course of your lifetime ended up in the same place, not necessarily at the end in all cases, but in the center. A new beginning because providence wanted you there.

GG GG GG GG GG

"**I cannot believe you are still here. Do you ever go home?" You hear from the doorway of your office at the hospital.**

"**No one there to go home to Debbie. Might as well stay and burn the midnight oil, as they say." You laugh, turning toward your colleague. **

"**I know you have a lot to do, being the youngest surgeon on the board, but if you die of exhaustion while in the middle of an emergency, there'll be hell to pay."**

"**I'm fine, I took a nap a few hours ago after the heart attack that came in. It's actually been rather slow tonight." You say, turning back toward your paperwork. **

"**Well Doctor, you look like shit." Debbie says to you, turning to leave.**

**You chuckle at her forwardness and continue on with your paperwork. Within seconds of starting to read you hear your name being called, there is a burn victim in the emergency room.**

**You run out of the office and head down toward trauma room one. Debbie is following closely at your heal. You crash through the door and take in the sight. There is a man who looks like he came out on the losing end of a fire. **

**The man looks at you as you put your gloves on. You can see the brown eyes through the broken glasses. His face is melted together in various spots and his clothes are torched and pretty much useless. **

**You start to cut the clothes off the victim. "Sir, do you know your name?" You ask calmly. Years as a surgeon have taught you well.**

**The man looks at you and speaks in a barely audible whisper. "Chip Chase."**

"**Well Mr. Chase, you mind telling me what happened?" You say, checking his vitals and ordering O negative blood to start a transfusion. **

"**I'm A positive, if that helps." Chip whispers to you before passing out.**

"**Yolanda, get me two pints of A positive." You tell the attending nurse, who runs off to get the blood.**

**You open Chip's eyes, one at a time, and check for dilation. Then you pull the rest of the tattered clothes from his body. **

"**What the hell did this guy do, walk into a furnace?" You ask, seeing the melted and blistered skin that covers this poor man's body.**

"**I can answer that." A voice behind you says. **

**You don't even look up, you continue working. "Good, what happened? This was no fire."**

"**You're right, he was shot, point blank, by a disrupter cannon."**

**For a moment it seems you are hearing things. What the hell is a disrupter cannon? "What?" You finally turn to the one answering the questions. Your eyes get wide. "What in the sam hell are you?"**

**Whatever it is you are looking at seems to take no offence at your harsh demand. "I am Fixit, part of the Autobot Rescue Patrol."**

"**I don't have time for this, Debbie, take whatever that is out into the waiting area. I'll be out to answer questions when Mr. Chase here is stable."**

**For a moment longer you watch as Debbie escorts Fixit out of your ER, then you return to the patient on the table.**

**GG GG GG GG GG**

_You sit on the hood of your car watching the traffic go by. This being your first trip to Juneau Alaska for any reason, you are excited to have finally made it to all 50 states. You slowly put your coffee cup to your mouth and take a swig. Even though it's summer, it's still a little cold._

_You turn to watch the Canadian Geese start to fly overhead; you almost miss two familiar forms blur past you. For a moment, you just stare at the two cars as they continue on their trip, thoughts taking you back almost a decade. You shake your head, trying to get the ghosts of so long ago to leave._

_One last look and you hop off the hood of your car and head into the building where your traveling information kiosk is located. The museum has decided that you and your studies need to do a traveling show, thus you have driven up to Alaska on the final leg of your tour. _

"_My Primus." You hear, just as your hand touches the door handle. A smile creeps up on your face at the word you haven't heard in years. You slowly turn your head and look at the speaker._

"_I haven't heard that word in a long time, but the ones who taught me that word have always been in the back of my mind." You say to Jazz._

"_This is like 'n episode o' th' Twilight Zone." Jazz says, walking toward you, like no time has passed. _

"_How are you Jazz?" You ask, taking your hand away from the door and holding it out in a formal hand gesture. _

_Jazz clasps your hand and shakes, skepticism showing. "Why din't ya come back?"_

_The moment at the back of Carly's car flashes in your mind, as you had grabbed your bag and walked into the airport, clutching Wheeljack's first invention. You see in your mind, you boarding the plane and trying to suppress the notion to get up and go back to the Autobots. Once the plane had landed you didn't look back._

"_I don't know." You answer truthfully. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."_

"_What'r y' doin' in Alaska?" Jazz asks._

"_The museum has me running a traveling attraction. I'm visiting all over the western hemisphere."_

"_Sound's important. Ya havin' fun?" _

"_Fun as can be expected. What are you doing in Alaska, and was that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe I saw barreling down the street a few moments ago?" You ask, pointing in the direction the two had flown by._

"_Yeah, they'r probably headin to th' city."_

"_Which city?" You ask, taking another sip of your coffee._

"_Autobot City, s'bout 80 miles east o' here." Jazz says pointing in the general direction._

"_You built a city, what about the Ark?" _

"_You din't keep up on us I see. Did ya even read the e-mails we sent?" You can hear the hurt in Jazz's voice._

_For a moment a few of the messages flash in your mind. You have them saved on your hard drive and in your e-mail account, all of them._

"_I did." You say, looking at the ground. You feel like dirt right now._

"_Mind tellin me why ya din't see fit ta answer?"_

_You can feel tears in your eyes and you're not sure if it's the air stinging them or if some repression is finally coming forward. "I have no excuse, I'm an ass." You say, not looking up._

_Jazz regards you for a moment, making the silence become rather uncomfortable. "I think ya should come with me. There'r a few who you should at least talk to who were rather upset when ya left and din't bother ta even remain 'n contact. Ya owe 'em that much."_

_You look at the building you were going to enter. There are people in there waiting for you to assist them. You then look at Jazz. There are people who you treated like so much sand on the ground who deserve to hear from you why you didn't stay in touch._

_You walk over to the garbage can and throw away your cup. "I owe those who don't want to use me for target practice an explanation." Jazz transforms and you get in. _

_GG GG GG GG GG_

"Phaser, there's an Autobot here for you." Geiza says to you from the doorway to your hut.

"Good, tell them to go away." You say while feeding the child you are watching.

"This one seems kind of insistent."

"Geiza, I really don't want to see anyone whom originated from the planet Cybertron now, or ever." You eye the girl with pleading in your optics.

"Says they've been looking for you for a while." You can tell from the girl's voice that she is scared to go back and tell whoever is knocking on your door. Of course she should be. G'Roythians are shorter than humans, so Cybertronians must seem enormous to the girl.

"I doubt they're going to hurt you if you tell them I died or something." You say, spooning some mashed vegetable into the mouth of the baby.

Geiza's eyes get wide. "You want me to tell a falsity?" If you could you'd roll your optics, but Cybertronians don't have the ability to roll their optics and when you gave up your life as a human to become a Cybertronian, you gave up that particular ability too.

"No Geiza, I don't want you to tell a falsity. I'm coming." You stand up and pick up the tiny child, no bigger than a tiny monkey, and walk outside of your hut with the two of them.

Geiza runs forward and flags down someone you immediately recognize. "I told you I knew where Phaser was!" She happily tells the Autobot.

You cup the child to your chest and walk forward, looking up at Bluestreak. Even though you had given up your human form in exchange for a living metal body and a spark, you remain the same size as you were when you were human.

Bluestreak looks at you for a moment, then smiles. "You sure know how to disappear Phaser."

"What do you want?" You snap, causing Geiza to run toward her parents.

"Still as irritable as the last time I saw you." Bluestreak says, trying to stay cheerful.

"What do you want Bluestreak, can't you people leave me alone?" You spit out, causing the baby to start whimpering.

"Is that your creation?" Bluestreak asks, looking at the child.

"Sesch anuka greta paiuch." You say to the child, who calms down and curls up into a ball in your arms.

"What language was that?" Bluestreak asks with wonder.

"Savianon, the archaic language from this world. They use it as a way to calm their offspring down. And no, she is not mine, I'm watching her."

"You should have stayed on Cybertron and made a creation. They would have been lucky to have you as a creator." Bluestreak kneels down in front of you.

"Cut the sentimental bull Bluestreak, what are you doing here?" You ask, handing the child off to one of the natives who has come out to see the new creature.

Bluestreak looks sullen for a moment, then says, "Optimus wants you to come back to Cybertron. We need you."

"Well good for Optimus. None of you needed me before, what do you need me for now?" You say, then you pause. "I thought Optimus died."

"Optimus was resurrected." Bluestreak says.

For a moment you dare to hope. "Was anyone else resurrected?"

"Sorry Phaser, not only was Wheeljack not resurrected, but the body was destroyed."

That fleeting hope vanishes faster than a fart in the wind. "Then what the fuck do you want me for. Can't you people leave me in peace?"

Bluestreak stands up fast, causing the G'Roythians to scatter. "Do you think Wheeljack really wants you to run away to some distant planet and brood when you could be living and rebuilding the dreams of our planet?"

"I don't think Wheeljack really cares anymore Bluestreak." You snarl. "Wheeljack is dead."

Bluestreak stares at you in stunned silence for a minute, processors whirring. Then kneels in front of you again, turning you around and looking into your optics. "Wheeljack may be dead, but you're not. You're the reason I was able to grow up. You helped me, let me help you."

You glare at Bluestreak, wanting so much to put the past to rest, but not able to. "I'll come with you, but not because I want to, because whatever planet you fools touch brings despair to its people. I don't want the people of G'Roythia brought into your foolhardy war."

You wrench your arms free from Bluestreak's grasp and walk toward your hut to gather the one thing you've carried with you for almost a decade: Wheeljack's first invention.

GG GG GG GG GG

_You watch as the scenery flies by from the inside of Jazz. Within twenty minutes of you disappearing from your job, your cell phone rings._

"_Yeah." You answer, hearing Jazz chuckle slightly._

"_I've got reports that you just up and leave." Your boss says to you. "What gives?"_

"_I'm sorry John, I needed to take care of something that should have been dealt with years ago. I'm too much of a coward." You can feel Jazz shake slightly at the put down on yourself._

"_Are you in some sort of trouble? This doesn't have to do with Kelsey and the kids does it?" _

"_No, my ex hasn't bothered me in years and the kids barely even know I'm alive." You say into the phone. "This is me trying to put the past behind me."_

"_I'll put you down for a couple weeks sick time, but that's about as much as I can get you before people start asking questions."_

"_Thanks John, I appreciate it." You hang up the phone and resume looking out the window._

"_You went and got yourself married?" Jazz asks after a few moments of silence._

"_Married and divorced. Took everything, including our kids. It was a good thing I had started the tour or I would have been living out of my car." You say, pushing further back into the seat._

"_What happened, between ya an' th' ex I mean?" _

"_A really messy divorce. I haven't been allowed to see our kids in over two years. That's what happens when you have better lawyers than I did." You take out your phone and look at the last picture of your kid you had taken. Both of them were smiling and so happy._

"_What happened?" Jazz asks again, softly, urging you to talk about it._

"_Kelsey claimed that I was in love with someone else the entire length of our marriage. Got proof when I started talking in my sleep and calling out the same name over and over again." You glance one more time at the picture and stick the phone into your pocket. "The evidence was used and the judge ruled against me on the grounds that I broke my vows. Didn't find out until later that the judge was golfing partners with Kelsey's father. Because I was a jerk, I lost everything." You say spitefully. _

"_Ya could've let us know. We happen ta be pretty good at legal matters." Jazz tells you sadly. _

"_What's done is done. Kelsey went and got married again and I get to see my kids when they turn eighteen, if they want to see me."_

"_That's one hell of a divorce agreement."_

"_It wasn't an agreement. I was stupid enough to think I would be dealt with fairly. Because the back of my mind is stuck on someone else, I lose everything. Talk about karma." You turn and face the steering wheel. _

"_Who were ya callin out?" Jazz says, turning off the main road and onto a back road into the mountains._

"_If you can believe it, I was calling for Wheeljack."_

_GG GG GG GG GG_

"Hello Cosmos, it's been a long time." You say as you and Bluestreak enter Cosmos and take off.

"Phaser, I can't believe we actually found you on this backward planet. In human measurements, we've been searching for you for months." Cosmos says, console lights flickering.

"I didn't want to be found." You say, sitting on the floor in an out of the way area. Bluestreak sits down next to you. "I'd ask you to drop me off at the next asteroid belt, but I assume that won't be happening."

"We can't let you go, Optimus's orders." Bluestreak states, as if it was something that you should have known. It was.

"Don't tell me the noble Autobots have started to detain civilians." You scoff, clutching Wheeljack's invention to your chassis.

"You kinda went AWOL."

"That's a human military term and one I know for fact that didn't exist in your vocabulary until you arrived on Earth, so don't pull that with me." You snap.

"Take it easy in there." Cosmos warns. "I'm not designed to have my internals used as a sparing grounds."

"Relax Cosmos, I'm not gonna fight with anyone." You say, then turn toward Bluestreak. "Besides, Blue here could pull me apart and pop off my head." No humor is in your voice, both Autobots realize you aren't joking.

"I would never do that to you Phaser." Bluestreak says softly, voice full of hurt. This makes you feel awful and you put a hand on Blue's leg.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me or anyone else, unless you were forced to Blue." You sigh, leaning against the wall.

Silence engulfs the three of you as Cosmos speeds through the vastness of space. You know it will probably take quite a while before you reach Cybertron, so you close your eyes and let yourself slip into recharge.

GG GG GG GG GG

**It takes almost an hour to get Chip out of the woods before the burn unit team comes to collect him to start with skin grafts. You take a few minutes to breathe and get some fluid into your already dehydrating system. Then you head out to the waiting room to see if there is anyone to let know about Chip's prognosis. **

**You walk toward the window and stop and stare. Not only is that Fixit character present, but there are three other, whatevers, of the same human height in the room as well. In addition to them, there are a couple more, who appear to be of the same design, but who appear to be quite a few feet higher.**

**Shaking your head, you decide to enter the room. Within a few seconds there are half a dozen pairs of eyes staring at you. **

"**Well?" One of the creatures asks. **

"**Chip'll be fine, but it will be a long recovery process. There are still quite a few complications, but he's out of the woods for the moment." You say, slightly worried at what these might do to you and the staff. **

**Fixit comes forward. "Can we take him back to Autobot City?"**

"**Auto-what?" You ask, confused. **

"**I think we're better equipped to handle Chip. We are quite a bit more intelligent than you and First Aid knows what to do."**

**You step back from the red colored being who is berating your staff. "As there seem to be no actual humans present, I don't have to do anything. None of you, whatever you are, are his family, you couldn't be."**

"**I don't see how you plan on stopping us." One of the taller ones says, standing to full height and causing you to crash into the wall behind you.**

"**Stand down Blades." You hear a voice from behind you. A man steps into the room and eyes the six creatures.**

"**Spike we don't have time to cater to human doctors. There are Decepticons out there we need to stop." The one called Blades tells the man. **

**You throw up your hands in the air, causing all seven pairs of eyes to look at you. "I don't know what you are," You say, pointing to the creatures, "But someone better tell me what the hell is going on before I have you all thrown out."**

**The other taller being laughs at your sudden outburst. "Man, you're worse than Ratchet in a bad mood when the mech was still around."**

**You glare at the being before turning toward the man. "Spike? Right?" The man nods. "What are those?" You point toward the beings.**

"**They're Autobots, specifically from the Rescue Patrol and the other two are Blades and Streetwise from the Protectobots." Spike answers you like it's no big deal.**

"**What the hell are you talking about?" You eye the six Autobots warily. **

"**They're not going to hurt you. They were working with a few of the other Autobots on the flood that happened over in Hazard County and we ran into some Decepticons who decided to light a fire under our afts and that's how Fixit ended up bringing Chip here."**

"**Deceptibots, Autocons, what is this, some sort of television practical joke?" You say, looking for the cameras.**

"**You've never heard of the Autobots or the Decepticons?" A blue, red and gray colored Autobot asks you.**

"**No, I don't pay attention to the news, all that's ever reported is bad news anyway." You say, still wary of your guests. **

"**Well surgeon," the smaller red one asks, voice full of contempt. "How is it that you are smart enough to be a surgeon, but dumb enough not to stay up on current events?"**

"**Stand down Red Hot." The one called Streetwise warns.**

"**You can't expect some human, with no knowledge of us or our cause, to assist in fixing someone who's been injured with a disrupter cannon. There are things that we can do that they obviously can't." Red Hot says, glaring daggers at you.**

**You walk right up to Red Hot and speak, acid in your tone. "I may not know who you are, but I am plenty prepared for whatever comes through that doorway." **

**As if karma has it in for you, the doorway is blown open and you see a green military tank and a blue military tank in the doorway. You back up and are immediately pushed behind Streetwise and Blades. **

**To make matters even stranger, the two military vehicles start to shrink in size and turn into human sized robots, not unlike the four beings of the Rescue Patrol. Two more show up behind the green and blue creatures.**

**The green one holds up some sort of gun looking thing and shoots the ceiling down around you and the Autobots. You are covered and manage to not get hurt as bits of ceiling crash into Streetwise.**

"**Wonder what Prime'll pay to get these back." You hear the blue one sneer at the Autobots, who have positioned themselves in front of the doorway and the rest of the ER. You can see the staff either hiding behind door jams, or walking along hallways to get out of one of the other exits. **

"**There is nothing in this hospital for you Bombshock, leave the area peacefully." Streetwise says calmly.**

**You peer around Blades's leg and look at the four new arrivals.**

"**If you had an ounce of intelligence in that CPU of yours Streetwise, you'd have realized by now, we take no prisoners. Prime'll pay well for your sparkless bodies once we're through with you." The one called Bombshock answers. **

**The blue one looks at Bombshock for a moment before speaking. "No, we leave them alive to do our bidding."**

**You eye the two of them for a moment as they size each other up. For a moment you are so transfixed, you don't feel a hand grab you and start to pull you out the back door.**

**You look over at Fixit, who is motioning for you to be silent. You can't. "What the hell this, who are they?" You whisper fiercely. **

"**Quiet." Fixit says softly. "They're the Decepticon Military Patrol. We need you to gather all the patients you can and get them out of here."**

"**What are they doing at my hospital?" You hiss, halting your movements, intent on getting some answers.**

"**They're probably after us."**

"**You mean to tell me, you knew the likes of those things are out there and still you go somewhere they will inevitably follow." You ask with a dangerous tone.**

**Fixit looks at you with pleading eyes. "I really need you to go, we can answer any questions you have later." You glance over at the Military Patrol, who seem to be arguing with one another over what to do with the ones in your waiting room. **

"**I'm not going anywhere until someone answers some fucking questions." You snap.**

"**You!" A tan colored Decepticon says, causing you and Fixit to look toward the four who blew a hole through the door. **

**You don't have time to react before you feel yourself engulfed in heat and the last thing you hear is someone shouting, "Watch out!"**

**GG GG GG GG GG**

"_That's pretty messed up there kid, callin for old 'Jack after knowing the mech for less than a day." Jazz says to you evenly._

"_Don't ask me why my subconscious decided to become infatuated with someone I had barely any time with. Probably had something to do with Wheeljack making one of my dreams into a reality. I was just a kid at the time. Hero worship and all that." You say, praying this is over soon._

"'_Jack did mention flying with ya once before leaving a few years back. Mech did a good job of hiding th' hurt at your not responding to th' e-mails. Actually took it harder than Blue did, which surprised everyone."_

"_It's not like I made much of a difference in any of your lives. I was curious. No one should have actually expected me to remain in contact. That was the end of one segment and the beginning of another." You say, although you know immediately how foolish the answer is._

"_No one is so good they should throw away any friends and I know ya know that." Jazz states with an indifferent tone. "Besides…" The friendly, upbeat, tone you remember reappears. "There are no real endings an' consequently, no real beginnings."_

_You immediately want to roll your eyes. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." You say, sounding like a spoiled brat. _

"_Listen ta me kid and listen carefully." Jazz commands. "Th' fact that ya decided ta act like an ass all those years ago was your choice. The fact that ya ignored our contact was rude. This hiding is cowardice. Is this how ya want to live out the rest o' your life?"_

"_You shouldn't talk like you know anything about my life Jazz. You weren't there when I was growing up. You don't know what it's like."_

"_Now you're sounding like a whiny child. Grow up a little an' take some responsibility. Ya may be in charge o' your little museum exhibit, but__you're now acting more like a kid than ya were when ya visited th' Ark."_

"_Why should I grow up, no one else does?" You scoff, pushing yourself further into the seat._

_Jazz sighs. "Be th' better being. Ya can't take back th' past, but ya can, at least, make amends for yourself. If ya decide ta leave after that, then by all means, but show some backbone."_

_You close your eyes as Jazz puts on some Beethoven, a subtle reminder of the fun the two of you had had almost a decade ago. _


	2. Reunited

Sorry, still don't own - don't have any intention on owning.

* * *

Reunited

_The Autobot City looms in front of you like a fortress. Jazz watches you with interest as you try and find out how far this incredible, metal building goes._

"_This place is massive beyond belief." You say, ignoring the apprehension in the back of your mind. Sure you might have spent a day with the Autobots, but you haven't had any contact with any of them in the time since you said good-bye to Wheeljack till your unexpected run in with Jazz._

"_This may surprise ya, but part o' this building actually transforms inta an Autobot too." The melodious voice of Jazz breaks through the thoughts running around in your head._

"_Part of this building transforms?" You ask as you follow Jazz up the walkway._

"_No, th entire building can transform. Part o' th building is a sentient being like me and you." You and Jazz make your way closer to the doors, which seem rather foreboding to you. You see a tall green mech standing at the door. This one you haven't seen before, so your apprehension isn't nearly as thick as if this had been someone you knew._

"_Jazz!" The being shouts. "How was your trip buddy?" This one is obviously in good spirits._

"_Glad ta be back for th' moment Springer." Jazz says, clapping Springer on the back. "This is…" Jazz starts to introduce you._

"_I go by Phaser now." You interrupt._

"_Phaser, where'd ya get a name like that?" Jazz asks._

"_Ironhide kinda gave it to me when I was last at the Ark." You say, remembering how Ironhide had told you to watch what you say._

_For a moment both mechs look rather sad at your comment. You raise your eye brows and stare at them quizzically._

"_That sounds like somethin ol' Ironhide woulda said." Jazz says. You can tell Jazz is covering up some sort of sadness. _

_Curiosity piqued, you ask, "How is Ironhide?" Both mechs look at each other and you know something must have happened._

"_Ironhide was KIA." Springer says to you since Jazz seems a little lost at the moment._

"_KIA, what?" You try to remember what the acronym stands for._

"_Killed in action. The mech was gunned down by Decepticons almost three Earth years ago." _

_The news hits you, and stings, like doing a belly flop off a three meter diving board. Who else succumbed to the same fate? "How?" You whisper._

"_Mech was gunned down by Megatron on the way back from Cybertron. Lost a lot of good comrades that day." Springer says to you._

_You hang your head for a moment. For you, the thought that they, all the ones you had talked to, were still alive was a comfort in the back of your mind. They were so incredible, the thought of them dead, any of them, hurts. _

"_Did anyone else I met die?" You look back up at Jazz and Springer._

"_Th' same flight had Prowl and Ratchet aboard. Prime was killed later." Jazz answers your question somberly. _

_For a moment you recall the time spent with each of them. How Prowl was too serious and Prime almost felt too perfect. How Ratchet seemed to think it was okay for you to dissect a human being. All the while the back of your mind is saying, 'what about Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Hound, Jetfire, Red Alert, Hoist, Grapple, Swoop, Perceptor!' What about Wheeljack, the reason you were divorced._

"_I know what ya' gonna ask." Jazz interrupts your thoughts. You look at the mech with hollow eyes. "Wheeljack left right after th' completion o' Autobot City. Mech didn't seem ta care anymore."_

"_What do you mean didn't care?"_

"_Said somethin about bein' happy and this wasn't it. So th' mech left with Jetfire, Mirage, Skids and Beachcomber ta do a survey o' an unpopulated planet. When th' group came back, it was already over."_

"_What about everyone else?" You ask, hoping for the best. The back of your mind asking how could they possibly mean so much to you when you didn't have the common courtesy to tell them what you were doing._

"_Most o' th' mechs are still around. Bluestreak has changed the most." Jazz watches as you fidget slightly. "I found out that ya diagnosed Blue with something called PTSD. What th' mech didn't know was that seein so many o' our little family dead would cause, somethin Sparkplug called, a relapse." At this you feel like crying. You know what's coming. "Blue was sent back ta Cybertron to th' hospital. Mech regressed so far no one can get ol' Blue ta come back out."_

_The last e-mail Bluestreak had sent you comes to the forefront of your memory. Blue had asked if you still were friends and asked if something had been said that caused you to not reply. The message had sounded so sad and you had just discarded it like a used tissue. _

_There are other e-mail on your computer, one from Prime asking if you will be returning to finish your paper. One from Ratchet asking if you wanted to work on building a hologram of the human internals for others on Cybertron to learn. There is even one from Sunstreaker asking your opinion on the artist Ma Lin. You ignored them all. _

_The last e-mail was from Wheeljack, almost a year and a half after you left, asking if you ever thought about them. Or if you didn't care. Obviously the answer was; you didn't care, and just like a lot of people, you had buried your desires in the back of your mind and pretended they didn't exist. _

_You look at both Jazz and Springer, your face contorted, "If I had stayed around, maybe all this wouldn't have happened."_

_Jazz kneels in front of you. "You're just one person and the odds o' ya personally changin how things turned out is nil. What was supposed to happen happened and there was nothin you could have done about it."_

"_Then why do I feel like shit?" You ask, proving once again how young you really are._

"_Because kid," Jazz says, putting a hand on your shoulder. "Ya realize that life continued on for us without ya and you're regrettin th' decision ya made. Don't let regret stand in the way of life."_

_You push back the tears that are swimming in your eyes, threatening to overflow. "I'm old enough to know I can't change the past, but I can create the future. Can I see Bluestreak?"_

_Both mechs look at each other then back at you. "You want to go to Cybertron?" Springer asks._

"_I owe Blue an answer." You say. _

"_Good enough for me." Jazz says, standing up and indicating the doorway into Autobot City._

GG GG GG GG GG

"Well this place looks better than the last time you people drug me here." You say to Bluestreak while exiting Cosmos. "We got here a lot faster too. How is that?"

"We have space bridges throughout the area now. Makes the jump like a tesseract." Bluestreak answers.

This causes you to scoff. "You been reading books by Madeleine L'Engle?"

"I happen to enjoy reading Earth literature. Keeps my mind off of other things." Bluestreak says softly. You can tell there is a slight flashback going on.

"Remember what I told you Blue. Don't let the past live your life for you and don't live your life for the past. Live for the present and the future." You scan the city, looking for whoever is going to collect you and take you to Prime.

You and Bluestreak walk toward the center of town, when you realize you have no idea where you are.

"Where the hell are we?" You ask.

"This is the city of Uraya, after it was rebuilt. This is where Optimus wanted to meet you." Bluestreak says. You notice something different about Blue that has been bothering you since you last saw the mech.

"How come you're not rambling on like you used to Blue?"

"Because I'm not longer hiding from the past, I accepted it." You regard Bluestreak for a moment and realize that Blue is going to be okay.

After your brief bout of happiness for your friend, you turn and see Optimus, trudging, toward you with Grimlock close behind.

It takes a few moments for the two of them to make it to both you and Bluestreak. "You just couldn't stay dead could you? What's the matter, didn't want Jesus to have all the glory." You snap.

You watch Optimus watching you with a vacant expression. "That remark was rather uncalled for."

"Well so was making me come back here." You retort.

"I see time hasn't softened your contrary attitude at all." Prime says to you, just as emotionless as before.

"Ironhide nicknamed me for a reason."

"Ironhide did a good job with the nickname, you have no idea how much damage you can cause with your words."

"I. Don't. Care. What do you want?" You say, crossing your arms over your chest.

"I see you removed the Autobot insignia from your arm." Optimus says, looking at where the insignia had been placed when you decided to change from human to Cybertronian.

You look at your arm. There is still a slight scar, but it's not noticeable if you didn't know there was something there to begin with.

"I haven't been an Autobot in years. Didn't see the need to shout what I once was."

"You Phaser have bad attitude." Grimlock says, peering over Optimus.

"You Grimlock still sound like a halfwit." For a moment all three Autobots look at you in surprise.

Finally, after almost a minute Grimlock speaks. "You Phaser lucky me Grimlock respect Wheeljack," Grimlock says in a dangerous tone. "Or me Grimlock would take out your spark and crush it like human fleshy."

"Take your best shot." You challenge.

Grimlock takes a step forward, but Bluestreak is too fast. "Well isn't this a pleasant reunion. Come on Grimlock, I need your help." Bluestreak holds Grimlock's shoulders and the two walk away, but not before Grimlock growls at you in disgust.

You watch as the two walk off, but are brought back when Optimus speaks. "That is enough." Comes a stern command. "I know you aren't happy with us and I can tell you're having a hard time with my getting resurrected over others, but that is no reason to belittle Grimlock."

You glare at Optimus. The back of your mind wishing you were human again, so you could scream, cry, shout, throw a temper tantrum to get rid of the buildup of anguish you feel.

"Optimus," you say softly. "Please just tell me why I'm here."

"We need your help." Optimus says, kneeling and extending a hand so you can sit. Admitting defeat, you sit on the palm and Optimus rises with you in tow.

GG GG GG GG GG

_You stare up at the new Prime with a mixture of awe and fascination. This Prime is decorated like a sports car, complete with flames. For some reason you feel more comfortable with this Prime than Optimus. _

"_You want to go to Cybertron?" The Prime asks you._

"_Yes I do. There's someone there I need to apologize to." You say softly._

_Rodimus looks at Jazz for a moment, both seem to be speaking through the internal communicator. _

"_Can we trust you enough to take you to Cybertron?" Rodimus asks you evenly._

_For a moment you feel like you are before the judge in a courtroom. All of your past indiscretions are being laid out before the jury. _

"_I don't know Rodimus. I do know that I can't change the past, but I can grow up a little and make amends now." You say, looking up from the floor with a renewed sense of pride._

_Rodimus doesn't get a chance to answer you. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe come around the corner, chattering away about who knows what. You and the Autobots turn to look at the twins._

_Sunstreaker stops in mid sentence. "Well time certainly hasn't been good to you has it?" Sunstreaker addresses you with an air of indifference._

"_I'm sorry." You blurt out before you even have a chance to think. _

"_For what?" Sideswipe asks, leaning against Sunstreaker's shoulder. _

_You can't tell if either know what you are apologizing for and are pretending ignorance, or if they really don't know._

"_I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the planet." You say to both of them, though Sunny isn't doing any talking, just looking at you with a face full of distain._

"_Sunny, do you think it's possible to fall off the face of something that doesn't have a face?" Sideswipe says to Sunstreaker. "Let's look at the facts, the planet Earth is a sphere, so there is technically no face." Sideswipe turns to look at the wall. "Now this wall has a face, so you could fall off of it, shall we see?"_

_Sideswipe turns around and picks you up. You are too startled to move. Sideswipe puts you against the wall and holds you there for a moment with one hand. You look at the surprised faces of both Rodimus and Jazz, expecting them to intervene. Neither do, but it surprises you when Sunstreaker does._

"_Let the human fleshy down Sideswipe, you and I both know what it's like to want to forget something." Sunstreaker says, reaching over and plucking you from Sideswipe's grip._

_Sunstreaker sets you down and stands back. Your eyes have gotten wide and the past minute is replaying in your head._

"_You going to just up and leave again?" Sideswipe asks. "Break promises and hurt mech's feelings?"_

"_No." You say with uncertainty. _

"_Good." Sideswipe says, then pounces on you again. This time you are face to face. "So, you still going to hook ol' Sunshine and I up with some humans to try that sex thing?"_

_You look at Jazz and Rodimus with complete mortification, the last conversation you had with the twins slamming into your memory. The looks of mild confusion on Rodimus's face and amusement on Jazz's face don't help._

"_Sure?" You ask._

"_I don' even want ta know kid." Jazz says through suppressed laughter. _

"_You can teach them about sex later, if you want to go to Cybertron, you'll have to be briefed and we'll have to find someone to take you." Rodimus says. _

"_What are ya going to Cybertron for?" Sideswipe asks, smoothly infiltrating the conversation. _

"_I've got to see Bluestreak and apologize." You say, hoping it's as easy as it was with Sunny and Sides._

"_Might want to see Wheeljack too." Sunny spits at you. You're not sure if this is Sunstreaker being normal or if there might be a little annoyance at you still floating around._

"_Is Wheeljack on Cybertron?" You ask all four of them._

"_I don't know what you did to 'Jack while you were at the Ark and I don't really care, but whatever it was changed the mech. Whether you meant to or not, you ripped that spark out and shattered it like so much glass." Sunstreaker says bluntly. "It'll be a miracle if you can find the mech. Hides better than Ravage in the dark."_

"_Wow Sunny, don't think I've ever heard you talk so much at one time." Sideswipe says with amusement. _

_For the life of you, you can't seem to get comfortable. Silently you tell yourself that this is penitence for the way you've acted in the past and karma is coming up to bite you in the ass, but you still can't shake the feeling that this was supposed to happen. _

"_Frag off Sides." Sunstreaker says before walking away._

"_Sunny has the brightest disposition." Sideswipe chirps before bounding off in the same direction._

"_I honestly don't know what to make of those two." Rodimus says to no one in particular. _

"_Relax Rod, it'll get easier eventually." Jazz says before turning back to you. "If ya wanna go on a little trip, we gotta get ya ready."_

"_What do I have to do?" You ask with conviction, all thoughts of not leaving for someplace new completely thrown out the window._

* * *


	3. The Plan

Again, I don't own anything.

The Plan

* * *

**You can hear voices in the back of your head, but they sound so far away. It's hard to make out what anyone is actually saying. You feel pain, excruciating pain, from everywhere. You can't scream, but you can't do anything for the moment.**

**Suddenly a voice is speaking to you from inside of your head, telling you to concentrate on the picture you should be seeing. You look for the picture, trying to understand it, but not knowing what it is. It looks like a blue star, pulsating almost like a heart.**

**You ask the voice why, why do you have to concentrate on this orb. The voice, kind and gentle, says, "You will die unless you concentrate on this object."**

**Everything seems to stop, time, space, everything. This must be what it feels like to die. Why is there pain, you ask. The voice tells you to be patient, when you wake up all your questions will be answered. **

**Seeing as there is nothing better to do right now, you concentrate on the blue orb. You feel cold for a moment, then everything goes blank.**

GG GG GG GG GG

_You stand to the back of the room while Rodimus, along with Jazz and another mech discuss your going to Cybertron. You know there isn't anything to do but wait until they give you the go ahead, so you prop yourself up against the wall and fiddle with your Blackberry. _

_Hoping that you will actually be going on this trip, you write a generic e-mail for your boss, family, friends and of course your kids, if they'll even be allowed to read it. You are so lost in thought, you don't hear Rodimus walk over to you._

"_It has been arranged, you will be leaving via the space bridge in five Earth minutes." Rodimus says, glancing at the device in your hand curiously. _

"_So that's all, nothing else? I get to leave for Cybertron?" You ask with slight confusion, pocketing your phone. You were expecting to have to wait, but this is rather fast._

"_You have Jazz to thank for that. Mech says this was a long time in coming." Rodimus says, still glancing at your pocket. You look over at Jazz, who gives you a thumbs up and leaves._

"_Am I going on my own?" You ask, realizing Rodimus is interested in your phone._

"_Red Alert is waiting on the other side for you." _

"_Well that'll be an interesting reunion. Red doesn't trust me." You say taking out your phone and handing it to Rodimus._

_Laughing, Rodimus answers you, "Red doesn't trust anyone, except maybe Inferno, occasionally. That's why Red is meeting you." Rodimus looks at your Blackberry for a moment. "The things you humans will come up with so you never have to go home."_

"_That's the only way I get information about my kids. Their neighbor keeps me informed on what my money is being used for."_

"_One of these days we'll have to put something like this in your head and you won't have to carry it around." Rodimus says, handing you the phone. "I'll walk you to the space bridge." _

"_I never got the chance to ask this question. Does Cybertron have an atmosphere similar to Earth?" You ask as the two of you make your way through the corridors of the city._

"_Not until we had carbon based creatures visit the planet. I believe we started up the atmospheric pressurize stations shortly after Prime awoke on your planet. Spike wanted to visit, but his father wasn't about to let his boy go to a place that could kill him." _

_The two of you make it to a room that reminds you of an astronomical observatory. The room is large, and in the center of the room is a hole in the floor. You walk toward it and see the hole is cylindrical and looks like a giant swimming pool without the water._

"_How big is this crater?" You ask, stepping up to the edge. _

"_It's about ten meters deep and has a radius of about fifteen meters. This way the space bridge can transport multiple beings at one time." Rodimus says, nodding to someone who seems to be monitoring a console of sorts._

_You watch as the other mech presses a few buttons. Then what looks like a monorail car is lowered from the ceiling. The enclosed box is set down in front of you and the door opens. _

"_Now the space bridge can transport organic material but needs metallic material, such as a Cybertronian or in this case, this box, to go with it." Rodimus says, indicating you should step in._

"_How long will it take to get there?" You ask, surprised that you are more excited then nervous. _

"_About 2.34982 seconds, your time." _

"_How?" You ask in wonderment._

"_I suggest you ask someone on the other side. We have to plan a trip like this down to the second and we need you to be inside and at the bottom of the bridge in forty-five seconds." Rodimus answers, giving you a gentle shove into the box._

_Immediately the door shuts and you are being lifted into the air. You watch as you are lowered into the bridge and placed on the ground. As the box touches the ground, you are no longer able to see over the edge, so you realize you are completely alone. _

_You watch from inside the box as lasers start to shoot light beams off of the mirrors that line the inside of the bridge. Pretty soon you can't tell where one light beam ends and another begins. By all intents and purposes, the light should be felt, but the beams seem to pass right through you and the box. _

_You start to feel something like static electricity shooting through you and you can see the hairs on your arm start to stand on end. Curious you watch them and watch the outside of the box out of the corner of your eye. Then, in a flash of light, everything stops and you are in, what you assume is the exact same place. _

_The door to the box stays closed and the box is again raised out of the bridge. You expect to see Rodimus, along with Jazz and the twins cracking up at the great joke they just played on you, but instead you see an annoyed looking Red Alert._

_You realize that you are no longer on Earth when you take you phone out of your pocket and not only does it not have a signal, but the phone seems to be fried. Great. _

_The door opens when the box sets down and you step out into a room that is identical to the room Rodimus took you too. Red Alert stalks over and glares at you for a second._

"_You have any idea how many security protocols were just waived so you could come here?" Red Alert demands. _

"_No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me." You say._

"_Relax Red Alert, Rodimus informed me of our guest, I doubt you're going to have to worry." A two-toned blue and gray mech says, walking toward the two of you._

_Red Alert spins around and looks at the newcomer. "This human," Red Alert starts, then turns toward you. "I hear you're going by the nickname Phaser now, how'd you come up with that one?" Then before you can answer, Red turns back and starts up again. "Hasn't been properly briefed on the security measures of being on this planet."_

"_Phaser's going to be coming with me, so you don't have to worry."_

_Red Alert turns toward you again. "If I hear one thing from Kup about what you shouldn't have done, I will have you thrown in the brig and have the code changed every twenty seconds to keep you locked away." The threat is genuine, but you actually let it go in one ear and out the other._

_Red Alert glances at Kup one more time and walks off. _

"_Red is great for public relations." Kup chuckles. "Remind me to tell you about the time we sent Red Alert to keep an eye on the Junkions. It'll have you laughing right out of your skin." _

_You smile up at Kup, but refrain from talking. "What's the matter, Ravage got your tongue?" Kup asks._

"_No, just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'm on a different planet." You say. _

"_Oh, that's right. You haven't been here before. Let's have a little tour before we go to the medical center. You're here to see Bluestreak, right."_

"_How is Bluestreak?" You ask, afraid of the answer._

"_Kid hasn't been the same since ol' Megs decided to obliterate half of the original Ark bots. Took it pretty hard. Stays in a room and rocks back and forth on the floor."_

_Even though there is no wind, you shiver, recalling a time when you did a study of PTSD and seeing how awful it was for the sufferer. You want to ask more, but within moments you have left the building and you are in a trance._

_The place you have stepped out onto is, not only large, but also the most incredible sight you have ever seen in your life. There are metal structures as far as the eye can see and more impressive then the Parthenon in Greece. _

_You walk toward the first structure, ignoring the looks you are getting from passersby, and stop in front of the first structure. You have seen this structure before, but know it must be a rebuild, since Sunstreaker had said the building perished in the attack on Iacon. _

_You look inside of the windows and see various paintings and sculpture. Then something catches your eye. You start pressing on the window, looking for a way in, like a kid in front of a candy store._

_Kup comes up behind you and points toward the doorway. You walk toward the door, Kup at your heals. The door opens automatically and you enter, much to the surprise of the patrons in the gallery. _

_You pass all the art and make a beeline for the one that caught your eye. The mint green color is unmistakable. Kup comes up behind you and looks at the painting with you._

"_That's me." You say in surprise. _

_Kup leans toward the painting and looks at it, then at you. "It is you, isn't it? Sunstreaker never did tell us who the model was."_

"_That is actually a reproduction; the original was purchased a short while back." A voice behind you states. The two of you turn toward the mech who is talking to you._

"_Why did Sunstreaker make a reproduction?" You ask, looking back at your painting._

"_The original was rather popular with the visiting cultures, so Sunny made quite a few repaints of this specific piece. We've sold almost half a dozen."_

"_Who was it who bought the original one?" Kup asks the gallery owner. _

"_Don't remember the mech's name, but was an original model from before the great wars. Uses flashing lights to communicate feeling."_

_This causes you to turn several shades of red. Kup looks at you with a questioning look. "I know who that is." You say._

"_How is that?" Kup asks you._

"_There were only four mechs created before the wars that communicated with lights. Three of them are dead, at least that's what Wheeljack told me." _

"_I didn't know you and 'Jack were friends. I remember when the young bot came online." Kup says, looking back at the picture._

"_Grapple designed this building, right?" You ask the owner, trying to get off the fact that Wheeljack owns a picture of you._

"_That's right, you know Grapple too?" The owner seems impressed with the company you have had in the past. _

"_I've met quite a few of the Cybertronians who were stuck on Earth a while back. I was going to use their knowledge to further my career." You say, suddenly wishing you were back at the museum in Juneau. For some reason, being here in the gallery doesn't seem right to you. You feel as if you should be somewhere else._

"_You okay kid?" Kup asks, noticing your sudden bout of fidgeting. _

"_I feel like I should be somewhere else right now." You say. You nod at the gallery owner and then walk out of the building._

GG GG GG GG GG

You watch as Optimus takes you through the city to what you assume is a delegation building. The lobby looks like any human structure, just on a larger scale. You are helpless to do anything but go with the mech to wherever Optimus plans on taking you. What surprises you is where you end up.

"Optimus, is this a science center?" You ask as Optimus sets you down on the floor of, what appears to be, Perceptor's lab.

"It is. I want you to listen to Perceptor's proposition. We need help."

"With what?" You would have narrowed your eyes, but since you no longer have eyes, you have to settle with using your voice.

"We have come up with a more efficient version of ourselves. They are smaller and it's easier to replace a smaller body than a bigger body." Optimus says to you. You move backwards slightly, but know that Perceptor is blocking your way out, so you have no where to go.

"We already have five other volunteers, but we need your help." Optimus says, glancing at Perceptor.

You turn around and look at your 'lab partner' for a moment, waiting for the genius to speak.

"I am going to use the same type of technology that we used when the Head and Target Masters were created." Perceptor tells you.

"You mean that group that turns into either your head or your gun?" You ask, though you already know the answer. Just because you've been traipsing through the galaxy doesn't mean you've not kept up on current events.

"Correct." Perceptor starts to pace. "This new group we are calling Micromasters. Smaller body size means we have less materials needed to repair the outer casing of the being. Less materials means we are more economically friendly." Perceptor turns to look at you. "I want you to volunteer with this other group of five, since we need six for the combiner set."

"Are you on crack?" You snap. "No way am I going to let you turn me into a piece of a miniature gestalt. I refuse." In all truthfulness, you are actually quite intrigued by the idea, but as you are still a little sour, you mind is a little clouded.

"No, I am not, as you say, on crack Phaser, but you did promise to work for the Autobot cause when you decided to use the Traalian water and change your essence." Perceptor tells you evenly.

"That's not fair." You say, knowing full well it is true. When Wheeljack asked if you had wanted to change your essence after almost two years of working closely with the mech, you had actually jumped at the chance.

Optimus had been fully against you changing your outside appearance; it took a number of others to argue the point for you. Finally, after almost a month, Optimus relented, as long as you worked for their cause. Prime wasn't about to help build up the Decepticon cause.

You had no issue at all with those terms at the time. You used the water, then with the help of Teletran-1, a certain set of twins and the space bridge, you managed to get to Cybertron and to Vector Sigma.

Vector Sigma granted you a spark, so you were killed, your energy sent to the center of Cybertron and then, through magic which no one could comprehend, you were reborn. You had intended to study what had actually happened to you, but there wasn't a chance.

You glare at both Prime and Perceptor. "What if I refuse?"

Prime does the Cybertronian equivalent of sighing, placing hands to either side of that massive head. "If you don't comply, then I will be forced to put you into solitary. You made an oath when I let you change who you were."

"I was a kid, you shouldn't have let me." You snarl.

"There were a number of respectable mechs who vouched for you, including our CMO and Chief Engineer. Do you want to break your promise to either of them?"

"That was low Prime, especially from you." You cross your hands over your chest. "Perceptor, do whatever you want." You walk over to the table and hop up. Prime looks at you with sad eyes, then leaves.

"What exactly are you going to do?" You ask, pacing the length of the table.

"I am going to inject a compound into your living metal skin that will give it some new properties." Perceptor says, walking toward you with a tray of material.

"How'd you know I would be coming?" You ask indignantly.

"I didn't, I treated three of the others who will be in your squadron." Perceptor says, filling a shot with some sort of metallic liquid.

"When will I get to meet them?" You ask, walking toward the edge of the table so you can get a better look at what Perceptor is doing.

"I expect two more of your group to be here any moment." Perceptor says, filling two more vials with the same liquid.

As if on cue, there are two more mechs standing at the door. These two are also short, and don't seem to have chosen an outer casing either. They look exactly like you do, a silver colored C3PO from the "Star Wars" franchise.

"Perceptor?" One of them asks.

Perceptor turns and glances at the newcomers. "Ah, Moonrock, Barrage, welcome to my lab." Perceptor positively beams with satisfaction at this new lab. It is quite a bit bigger than the one in the Ark had been.

The one on the left smiles, "I'm Barrage, this is Moonrock, were here for the upgrade."

"Upgrade, what upgrade?" You ask, looking at two of your new companions.

"This," Perceptor says, holding up one of the shots. "This liquid is going to attach itself to the chemical make-up of all of you, except your spark. What this is going to do is allow you to change your size and shape."

"Wait a minute," You interject before Perceptor has a chance to go off on a tangent that will inevitably turn into a lecture. "This is the same material that allows Cosmos and Jetfire to change size, or any Cybertronian who is capable of mass displacement?"

"Correct." Perceptor says, while pointing Moonrock and Barrage to the table. The two of them hop up and stand next to you.

While Perceptor adds one more chemical to the compound in the vials that will soon be entered into your systems, you glance warily at your new team.

"And who are you?" Moonrock asks in a pleasant tone.

"Phaser." You mumble, looking at the table top.

"Where were you created?" Moonrock presses. You can tell these two are quite a bit younger than Perceptor. You silently wonder if their sparks were created after the Autobots won Cybertron back from the Decepticons.

"I was born on Earth." Both mechs look at you with jaws slightly open. This causes you to squirm uncomfortably.

"Were you a human?" Barrage asks with curiosity.

"Don't think there are too many other beings from Earth who have the intelligence to be transferred from one body to another." You say with slight exasperation.

The three of you don't get the chance to continue the discussion, though you know the matter will be brought up again. Perceptor picks up one of the completely mixed vials and asks, "Who is going to be first?"

The three of you glance at each other nervously for a moment before you speak. "Tell me how this agent works and I'll go first."

"This agent works by speeding up the molecules that create you." Perceptor says, grabbing your arm.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" You snap, yanking your arm away. You can hear Moonrock and Barrage gasp at your use of Earth slang.

Perceptor drops your arm and looks at you for a moment. "This agent works like hot or cold temperatures do to water on Earth. In this form you are water." Perceptor indicates your current state. "When you think about getting bigger, in this case into what your alternate mode is going to be, your molecular structure will speed up. Like water turns to vapor on your planet." Perceptor reaches for your arm again.

"Vapor isn't solid, is our pre-chosen alternate form going to be a non-solid?" You question.

"No, the compound may speed up your molecules, but you will still retain a solid state." Perceptor reaches for your arm yet again.

"How is that possible?" You ask, backing up, causing the other two to back up with you.

"You will be equipped with an internal chemical that acts like a force field. You will personally be able to expand your molecules out, and like any force field, will keep matter from slipping through the fast moving molecules." Perceptor holds out a hand, waiting for you to hand over an arm.

"Then how does the opposite work, how does Blaster change from a giant mech to a getto blaster and end up weighing less?" You ask, actually putting your arms out as if you are protecting the two, confused, mechs behind you.

"The same principle applies. Instead of hot, cold occurs and causes the water to solidify." Perceptor, in an uncharacteristic move, grabs your arm and pulls you closer.

"Then how come I could pick Blaster up, the mech weights too much."

Perceptor looks at you for a moment. "I will answer your question, then you will let me inject you, or I will have to start with someone else." You shrug your shoulders, so Perceptor continues. "There is a chemical in all whose alternate form is smaller than they are, that actually shrinks their molecules."

"Say what?" You ask, full of confusion.

Perceptor sticks you with the compound and then looks at you again. "There is a way to shrink the molecules that make up what we are, or anything else for that matter. The compound is so microscopic, it attaches to the sub-atomic particles that make up an atom and makes them pull in on themselves, thus causing the atom to shrink, causing the molecules to shrink, causing the mech to shrink."

"That doesn't make any sense." You retort.

Perceptor motions for Moonrock to come forward. The mech, hesitantly, moves forward and offers an arm. You regret making the poor being so edgy with your standoffish attitude.

"Phaser, I know you are highly intelligent. You taught me things no one would have ever taught me about your people, but there are an infinite number of unexplainable phenomena out there, like the Traalian water for example. Don't question what Primus has given us, embrace it." Perceptor sticks Moonrock then motions for Barrage to come forward and receive the same treatment.

You and Perceptor stand off for a full minute, then you accept that there are just some things in life that are unexplainable and decide to leave it at that.

GG GG GG GG GG

"**Can you tell me your name?" A voice asks. The voice seems to start from miles away and work its way toward you like a fast moving vehicle.**

"**Faaaaaa zzzzz errrr." You hear yourself try to speak.**

"**Did the human doctor just say Phaser?" You hear another voice ask.**

"**Didn't you get the doctor's name when you went to the human hospital?" You hear someone else ask.**

"**No, we didn't have a choice." The second voice answers. "The Decepticons came and destroyed the hospital. We were lucky to get the doc out. No one else survived."**

**This news causes your throat swell slightly. No one in your hospital was alive? They all died? You want to ask where you are, but your motor functions seem to be inhibited.**

"**The human would have died too, but someone had to do a project, didn't they 'Aid? Had to turn the human into a Cybertronian for kicks. Optimus would have short circuited." You hear a new voice say. **

**What! You shout to yourself. They did what to you? "Nnnassss gonnnnnnnnnng uuuuuunnnnnnnnnn?" You ask with difficulty.**

"**Relax." You hear the first voice ask. "What should we refer to this one as?" You can hear the talking in the background and it's starting to piss you off.**

"**Call it Phaser." Someone supplies. "Isn't that the first word it said was?" **

"**Sounds good to me?" You hear yet another voice say. "When will Phaser be able to communicate with us?"**

**The first voice answers. "Give Phaser a few more hours then you can have a meeting. I want to work out some of the kinks."**

"**Very good First Aid. I expect a report as soon as Phaser is back on line." You hear foot steps walking away. **

"**Should have let the human die. Maybe if it had done what we asked, some of those patients would still be alive." You hear a voice snarl.**

"**Shut up Blades." You hear a familiar voice say, but since there are so many of them, the only one you can remember is the voice belonging to First Aid.**

"**Phaser," you hear First Aid speak to you. "I am going to knock you out for an hour or so, just until your new body learns to function with your mind." You feel your arm being raised, then something poke you in the skin. Then darkness. **

_GG GG GG GG GG_

_For some reason you feel like you are being pulled in one direction. Kup seems to take this in stride and follows you, but you have no idea where you are going. You glance up at your escort and then turn toward a large building near the outskirts of the area._

_You walk right up to the door and enter into a lobby that dwarfs you in size. You stop and look around, trying to see what could have possibly brought you here. You look at Kup, who seems to be a little confused as to why you stopped here._

"_Is there a reason you wanted to come to the Science Center, I thought you hadn't been here before." Kup says to you._

"_I haven't. I just felt like I should be here for some reason." You say glancing down a hallway. _

"_Kup, I haven't seen you here before." You hear a voice behind you. _

_You and Kup turn to see who is talking, then Kup answers. "Sorry Erector, just here on a little tour."_

_Erector looks at you, and you are genuinely surprised to see a Cybertronian that is closer to your height. "Well Perceptor and I are working on a new way to conserve materials right now. Plus we're looking at ways to make a certain group of bots work better together using the bonding technique."_

"_Wait a minute." You say, putting your hand up. "I thought that whole bonding thing was something you do with someone you love and want to become part of, or something like that." _

"_It is." Erector says matter-of-factly. "But that's not all bonding is for. Bonding brings two or more sparks together in a co-habitation sort of way. Imagine how much easier it would be to be able to hear and feel what your group is doing without having to rely on microchips and circuits."_

_You look at Erector for a moment, then look up at Kup. "Have you ever bonded with someone Kup?"_

"_Kind of a personal question to ask a mech Phaser." Kup looks at you seriously for a moment before continuing. "As for bonding, I have not. I've seen what it's done to a few mechs and I decided to keep my spark to myself. Probably a good thing too with all I've been through."_

"_Can I watch?" You ask Erector. _

"_I doubt Perceptor will have an issue with you coming with us and watching, but we're only adding the agent to the mechs right now, no bonding."_

_You look up at Kup, pleading silently for the opportunity, since you'd given up this sort of thing almost a decade ago. _

"_If you don't mind putting Blue on hold, we can go watch this little science experiment." Kup agrees. _

_You nod and then the two of you follow Erector through the bowels of the building. You glance around you and feel like you are back on the Ark, only the walls are more of a gray metal color than an amber color. You notice that Kup is looking around like you and taking everything in._

_After a few more minutes of walking, the three of you stop by a door. There are two other beings by the door, which look similar to C3PO from "Star Wars". You decide that these specific Cybertronians probably don't have an alternate form yet, they are just regular robots._

_Erector nods to the two waiting mechs and opens the door. The five of you walk into the room, you stop in the doorway. Perceptor is standing next to a table with three other mechs in "naked" form, giving them a shot of something. _

"_Erector." You hear Perceptor say without turning around. "Bring the other three volunteers over to the table and help them get up so I can give them this compound."_

_Erector quickly glances at the two mechs and then speaks. "Sorry Perceptor, there are only two other volunteers here, unless you count Phaser."_

"_Phaser? Who is Phaser?" Perceptor says, turning to face you and the other two volunteers. Perceptor's eyes shine brightly with recognition. "You're going by Phaser now?"_

_You smile without thinking and step forward. "Hello Perceptor."_

"_Come to help with another science experiment?" Perceptor gives another shot to a waiting mech. _

"_Depends on the experiment. There will be no repeats of last time." You say, turning red. You see the others in the room looking at the two of you curiously._

"_Honestly, I haven't thought much about it after we finished. I never did get the information from you, but I was so busy, I filed the information away." Perceptor gives the remaining mech a shot. _

"_That just proves you are not human, because humans tend to be caught up on sex." You blurt out before remembering there are others in the room._

"_Are you really a human?" One of the mechs next to you asks. You turn toward the mech and nod. "That is so cool. I'm Barrage, this is Moonrock." You shake both bots' hands. _

"_Haven't been to Earth before, I take it." You say pleasantly. _

"_Barrage and Moonrock are too young to have left Cybertron yet." Perceptor says, indicating the two should get onto the table. _

"_How old are they?" You ask as they hop up and both extend an arm._

"_About the equivalent of an eight month old Earth child."_

_This causes you to cough for a moment. You take a deep breath, realizing you had no idea young Cybertronians were this self reliant, even though you had been told they were._

"_You okay kid?" Kup asks, kneeling down next to you._

"_Sorry, air just went down the wrong pipe is all." You gasp, then turn toward the worried mechs in the room. "Relax, it's natural for humans to choke on nothing when they aren't expecting something."_

_The mechs in the room seem to relax, so Perceptor continues on with the shots. "Well we have Barrage, Moonrock, Heave, Blast Master and Missile Master ready. Where did the other volunteer go, I could have sworn there were six who had volunteered."_

"_From what Erector was saying about this bonding thing you are doing to the kids, you can't be too surprised." Kup says to Perceptor. "You're taking something that others find rather sacred and turning it into a military strategy."_

"_That is precisely why we asked for volunteers." Perceptor looks over a data pad and thinks for a moment. "We didn't really have anyone else volunteer for this after explaining the bonding ritual. This won't work with only five." _

"_Well, if we don't do this then we can always give these five a different alternate form, they don't necessarily have to become a combiner set." Erector says, jumping up on the table and walking over to Perceptor. _

_You marvel at how Bumblebee would seem huge compared to these six that are currently on the table._

"_You don't have to talk about us like we're not here." A sour voice in the back of the group says._

"_Sorry Heave, this missing volunteer puts us in a little situation." Perceptor says, returning full attention to the mechs on the table._

_While the mechs on, or near, the table discuss how best to proceed, your mind is racing through various ideas. Then, before you have much of a change to think, you say, "I volunteer." Causing everyone in the room to look at you. _

"_What are you talking about?" Kup asks you._

_You look up at Perceptor, who is looking at you with extreme interest. "I was offered a chance to live with the Autobots a while ago and I chose to ignore the signs. This, my being here, is a sign." There is not a sound in the room. "I volunteer to be the sixth team member."_


	4. The Change

Don't own

The Change

**The first thing you notice is how different you feel. Almost like you are there, but you aren't. Of course you don't know where you are exactly, all you know is you are somewhere. You open your eyes and notice, for the first time, you can actually see without corrective lenses. **

**You blink and look off to the side, though you don't turn your head. You realize you are not in your hospital anymore. You look around trying to find some sort of indicator as to where you are. The only things you can see are a table, a door and some sort of liquid substance in a vial on the table. **

**There is a light coming from somewhere that is giving of an eerie glow; almost inhuman. You can't hear the hum from the lights, in fact you can't hear much of anything at all. Except, you do hear some sort of soft whirring sound that seems to be coming from you. **

**You try to lift up your hand, but it feels heavy, almost like it's stuck to the table you are on. You try to turn your head and do manage to get it to flop to one side. Then the loudest alarm you've ever heard starts off. **

**Inwardly, you cringe, since you aren't able to put your hands to your ears. The tone is actually a musical chord in 3rds, just repeating itself over and over again. You start to feel dizzy from the sensation and not being able to block it out. Just before you feel like you're going to pass out, the noise stops and you hear the door open. **

**You turn your head slightly and look at the door. In the doorway is another one of those mechanical beings that were in your lobby at the hospital. This one is primarily white, behind it is another that is red and teal. Both of them look at you and then turn toward each other. **

**You have a feeling they are communicating somehow, but you are too stressed out to try and figure out how they are doing it. **

**The red and teal one steps forward and hovers over you. You look up and think, this must be what a baby feels like when the care giver comes and looks at them in the crib.**

"**Phaser?" The voice startles you, but you weren't expecting such a proper sounding voice to come from a machine. **

"**What?" You ask, surprised at the sound of your own voice. It's changed a little since you last heard it.**

"**That name seems to be what everyone has been calling you for the past Earth hour. Is that not an okay name to call you?" **

"**S'that my name?" You ask, not sure what your name is at the moment and remembering someone calling you that before.**

"**For now, if you don't mind." The machine picks up your arm and holds it above your head. **

**You cry out in surprise, not sure what you are seeing. You can feel your arm being held above your head, but the last time you checked your arm had skin, hair. You had finger nails. This arm looked like it was made of gray rubber or something. **

"**Relax, you've had quite an ordeal."**

"**Happened?" You ask softly. The other one walks over to the table and glances down at you.**

**You recognize the voice to be the one belonging to First Aid. "You were injured in a shoot-out between our faction and a group calling themselves the Decepticons." The voice is soft and has a comforting undertone. "There was no way to save your human body, so we used our technology and other means at our disposal to change your essence. You are now one of us."**

"**When will Phaser be ready?" You hear the other one ask.**

"**Perceptor, I'm not going to let you take Phaser for your experiment, at least not yet." First Aid calmly tells the other one. You listen to the discussion intently. "Phaser has a right to accept or decline your offer and I believe Rodimus has the authority to override your decisions."**

**Perceptor stays calm, but becomes extremely animated. "Phaser doesn't know what it's like to be a Cybertronian. It would be a waste to not study what the effects of the combiner bond experiment would have on a mech."**

"**Might I remind you that until recently Phaser was a human being, not a Cybertronian?"**

"**Yes!" Comes the excited reply. "That is why this would be such an interesting case study. Imagine turning from a human to a Cybertronian, with a bond to five others. There is no basis for comparison on such a study. It would be against every fiber optic in my chassis not to present such a study."**

**By this time you are beyond confused and a little annoyed at being forgotten. "Still here." You say as loudly as you can muster the strength for. Both mechs look at you. "What'r you talkin' 'bout?" You slur.**

**Perceptor comes right up to your face. "Shutter your optics if you can actually understand me." You look at the mech for a moment and then shut your eyes, thinking that must be what Perceptor is talking about. "Good, now I'm not going to sugar coat anything. If we hadn't transferred you into the new version of yourself, you would have died. Can't go back on that now."**

"**Perceptor." First Aid has a warning tone.**

"**I am an Autobot Scientist. I, along with a colleague, have come up with a more efficient way of utilizing the material that makes up our protoform. We're doing a study on bonding to see if mechs can become more efficient themselves and as a group. Right now you are just a protoform. I want to give you this agent and have you bond with five others in a test group to see if my hypothesis is correct."**

"**Hypothesis?" You ask.**

**Perceptor stands tall, looking down at you. "That with the bond so many consider a sacred act, we can become more effective in the war against the Decepticons. If we get a combiner group to form the same bond one does with the mech or mechs they want to," Perceptor thinks for a moment. "Marry, in your culture, then they will know what the others are doing, even if internal communications are down."**

**Perceptor looks at you intently for a moment. You decide the mech is trying to see if you understood a word that was said. You believe this test has something to do with making a group more reliant on one another, or something to that point. What you need to do is find out everything from the beginning. Of course you don't say that. **

"**Okay."**

GG GG GG GG GG

_Everyone in the room looks at you for a moment, speechless. During that time you have the opportunity to process your words. I just volunteered to become one of them, and bond with these five strangers! It doesn't take long for your internal alarms to start sounding off and for the first time in a while you think of your ex. What would Kelsey say to your kid? They already don't believe you exist._

_You don't have much more time to dwell on your children before Perceptor speaks up. "I know you're willing to do a lot in the name of science, but I don't think you realize what you are volunteering for." _

_Erector jumps off the table and comes to stand next to you. "Trust me when I say this." Erector puts a hand on your shoulder in a kind but serious gesture. "I know what it's like to change from a human to a Cybertronian."_

_You stare in awe for a moment. "You were a human being? From Earth?" You ask._

"_I was. I met this group 23 years ago when I stole one of them. I was going to sell the car and keep myself out of a lot of trouble. Little did I know, Tracks was an Autobot and wasn't too happy. We became friends after that."_

"_So you went through this process, changing who you are? You use the Traalian water or some other method?" You almost forget there are others in the room as the conversation you and Hound had a while back floods your memory. _

"_Just a minute now Erector." Kup says before anyone else can speak. "I think Rodimus should have a say in this. There haven't been many issues with turning organics into mechanics since the Nebulons helped us with the Headmasters and Targetmasters. But we can't just let anyone join this little faction." Kup looks at you for a moment. "Stay here and I'll go talk to Prime."_

_Kup walks out of the room, leaving you with seven very curious Autobots._

"_Why would you want to change who you are Phaser?" Perceptor says, while the volunteers sit on the desk, waiting for your answer. _

"_Don't know." You answer truthfully. You look at Erector. "What made you want to change?" _

_Erector laughs. "I didn't have a choice. I was damaged beyond repair, so Tracks brought me to Perceptor's lab in the Autobot City and had me concentrate on being a Cybertronian. I did, and the Traalian water you mentioned, was sprayed over me. I changed out of necessity to live."_

_You look at the group for a moment before continuing. They are all looking at you with interest, especially Perceptor, who is probably thinking of any number of experiments to put you through._

"_Have there been any other organics turned into Cybertronians? Did they give you a spark?" You ask Erector._

"_That was the hard part. I was one of the first, just before the battle with Unicron. We went to Vector Sigma and asked permission for my life force to be transferred into a spark as opposed to the computer like brain I was in at the time. The Cybertronian body I was in was melted down, with me in it, and merged with Vector Sigma and then siphoned down to Primus." Erector looks at the volunteers and Perceptor. The volunteers are all at the edge of their seats, Moonrock looks excited. Perceptor seems to know what is going on, but lets Erector tell the rest of the story._

"_When I became one with Primus, I was, corralled, as it were, and placed in one section of the spark of Primus. Not many know this, but the spark of Primus is always regenerating. So when I was broken off and sent back up to Vector Sigma, the spark of Primus didn't lose anything because more energy, from somewhere, was found and used to fill the hole where I once was."_

_You are flabbergast at this information. "I really want to ask how that is possible, but some things are better left up to the imagination." You say. _

_Perceptor walks over to you. "May I?" A hand is extended, like Optimus had extended a hand to you before. You nod and sit in Perceptor's hand. Within a moment, you are standing next to the other volunteers and both Perceptor and Erector are looking at the six of you._

"_You know Perceptor, this could work." Erector says to the larger mech. "We change Phaser into a Cybertronian, the easier way this time, and we've got our six volunteers for the project."_

_Perceptor nods in agreement then looks at the other five. "Phaser here has volunteered, are there any objections?"_

_The other five look at each other and you can tell they are communicating using that internal communications device Wheeljack had told you about a long time ago. Within a few moments, all five of them look at you._

"_No objections, but there is one question, how is it going to be when we are all bonded if there is one who was a human before in the mix?" Blast Master asks. _

"_There isn't a case study for a human being bonded with a Cybertronian yet, this will all be new ground, so there is no way of knowing." Perceptor answers without missing a beat. _

"_So any of the weaknesses this human might have could possibly bring us down?" Heave asks with a little distain._

"_I'm sure Phaser is just like you in that case, in fact Phaser is older than most of you are, at least in human terms." Perceptor says, clearly hoping this doesn't turn into a fight. _

_Heave looks at you for a moment, the amount of light being emanated from the eyes narrowing. "It's one thing to be bonded and working with a Cybertronian, let alone a human."_

"_Keep your cool Heave; you didn't seem to have an issue with me." Erector says, jumping up onto the table. _

"_Didn't know you were a human." Heave snarls. _

_You look at the other four, who don't seem to have too big of an issue with you, a human, becoming part of their team, but they also aren't saying anything to argue Heave. For a moment you think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea._

_Kup walks back into the room all smiles. "I've spoken with Rod who wants this little plan on hold until the twins are dealt with. Apparently they, along with Daniel Witwicky, broke into Perceptor's lab and used the Traalian water and changed themselves into humans. Springer caught them trying to go into the city. Said something about looking for the ones with whom they are going to get laid?"_

_This causes you to laugh out loud, the image of Sunny and Sides plus Danny going to find someone to have sex with. Erector starts to snicker too, but none of the original Cybertronians seem to be able to understand what is so funny. _

_You look at everyone in the room and then lock eyes with Erector. "You want to explain, or should I?" You ask. _

"_I think they can learn about that on their own." Erector says. "They have the Internet available to them on Earth. Let them go to Earth to look that up." You nod in agreement._

"_Getting laid aside, I think it would be a good time to see Bluestreak. When Rodimus comes, you'll have no more free time on your hands." Kup brings you out of your little euphoric state. You know you've jumped into a decision you probably shouldn't have, but you don't care._

GG GG GG GG GG

**You are sitting up in the lab and staring intently at your right hand. You watch as you open and close the hand repeatedly, hardly believing this is your hand at all. You watch as it folds and open, noticing you can no longer make out the lines and tiny hairs on the back since they are no longer there.**

"**What am I made out of?" You ask First Aid, who is monitoring your vitals.**

"**The Cybertronian Integumentary system is made up of a living metal tissue, not unlike your human organic cells." First Aid comes over to your side and picks up your arm, scraping a small amount of "skin" and putting it into a container of sorts. **

**After a few moments of poking around in a cupboard, First Aid produces a device that reminds you of a microscope. "Since Perceptor isn't here, I'll use this enhancement device to show you what your cells look like now."**

**You watch as First Aid places the container into the slot that was obviously designed specifically for those containers. Then the mech turns on a switch that creates a three-dimensional image of your new skin cells.**

"**What the hell?" You ask, completely shocked. The image you are looking at doesn't look like the cells of a human at all. To begin with, the cells look more like bricks, stacked on top of each other. There isn't a nucleus, that you can see, and the cell walls are pulsing. **

**Even when you had gone through basic Biology in high school, the cells you took from your mouth didn't move around. They remained stationary. These cells seem to have a mind of their own.**

"**How?" You ask, pointing to the picture.**

"**Each cell is like a tiny computer in and of itself. A living mechanism, a cross between organic and mechanic, if you will." First Aid begins telling you. "Each of these microscopic organisms attaches itself to another and so on, until you have the skin we are made from."**

**First Aid walks toward the picture, points to a part and the magnification increases, so you can see what is holding one cell to the other. You are in awe at the visual. You can actually see the small electrical pulses flying from one cell to the next, then back again. Almost like synapses firing, but with electricity.**

"**The Cybertronian skin, like the human skin, is a semi-permeable membrane, even down to the tiniest component. This way the natural energies from other cells can bounce from one to another. This makes it easier for each cell to communicate with one another."**

"**I honestly don't know how that's possible?" You say, not just because certain memories seem to be missing, but because the information is a little above your head right now. **

**You shake your head, trying to make sense of everything and coming up empty. There are too many questions floating in your head. Just as another one seems to be forming, the door opens and admits two more beings you haven't set eyes on before. The one is probably as tall as you are, maybe slightly more so, and colored in a dark yellow. The other one is taller than First Aid, mostly white with red and green markings.**

"**I've been told Phaser here is volunteering for the combiner bonding project." The short yellow one says.**

"**Yes, but just to be clear, I don't condone this action." First Aid tells the two.**

"**Any particular reason?" The yellow one asks.**

"**Because," First Aid begins. "Phaser has just been transplanted into a foreign body, has barely had time to adjust and is now thinking of running off with you scientists before having a chance to adjust."**

"**I agree with you 'Aid." The second mech says. It takes you by complete surprise to see lights flash on either side of the mech's head while speaking. The mech walks over to you and hops up on the table next to you. "Are you sure?"**

**For some reason you can see kindness emanating from this one's eyes. You regard everyone in the room for a moment before answering. "Where else am I going to go? I don't suppose I can go back to the hospital and work there and have people trust me like they used to."**

**You look at your hands, which had once been skilled as a surgeon. The same hands that have saved many lives over the course of your career. How was a normal human supposed to trust hands that were so strange to you?**

"**I suppose it's better to just let my people think I died in the attack, since it seems I have." You say softly, lowering your head in silent defeat. **

**The mech stands up and looks around the room at the other occupants, then back at you. With a slightly cocked head, the mech speaks. "I don't know if you are emotionally stable enough at the moment to handle this project."**

**You glance up and hold the mech's gaze for what seems like an eternity. "Who are you to say whether I'm in a good emotional state right now or not?" You finally ask, not in an angry or snappy tone, just a common tone.**

"**I'm Wheeljack. I was brought into this project by both Perceptor and Erector." Wheeljack motions toward the smaller yellow one.**

"**Well Wheeljack, Perceptor's right." You say, carefully standing up. "Number one; it would be a waste of an opportunity not to perform your little experiment on me. Number two; I have no where else to go, so you might as well use me to the best of my abilities. Number three; now that my head is clearing up, I want to know all about this project. It has started to intrigue me."**

**Wheeljack looks at Erector, who is smiling and First Aid. "You can't argue with that logic 'Aid." Vocal indicators flashing blue. **

"**I'm still not convinced. Maybe we should call Ratchet." First Aid says, doubt dripping from every word.**

"'**Aid, buddy, Ratch can't help you right now." Wheeljack says, wrapping an arm around the shorter bot. "Plus, trying to find the mech right now would be as impossible as trying to find Jazz."**

"**If I may," you say, holding up a finger. "I don't know who Ratchet and Jazz are, but they shouldn't have a right to decide my life for me. And, having me sit here and think about my predicament will cause greater harm than good. Let me go out and do something, instead of wait here." You say, then add softly. "I don't want to be alone with my thoughts right now."**

**First Aid studies you for a moment before nodding. "I am making you personally responsible for Phaser, Wheeljack. If it looks to be too much, I trust you to have enough common sense to pull the plug. This isn't one of your machines that you seem to be in the habit of blowing up, this is a living being, who can die if you're not careful."**

"**You've got a great bedside manner 'Aid, gotta hand it to ya." Wheeljack says, slightly offended. You watch as the two regard each other for a moment, probably speaking to each other telepathically or something. Then Wheeljack walks over to you and holds out a hand. "It may take you a little while to get all our motor functions working properly, so for now, if you don't mind, I'll be your transportation."**

**You look over at First Aid, as if to get approval, and then step into the hand. You sit down and are immediately brought to Wheeljack's chest, as the two of you and Erector walk out of the room.**

GG GG GG GG GG

"_Is this where Bluestreak is" You ask Kup. The two of you are standing in front of a plain looking building that seems to get lost in the sky._

"_Blue was brought here shortly after the rebuild of the city. There wasn't much that was able to be done with the mech; too far gone to save, they say." Kup says solemnly. _

"_Did you know Blue well?" You ask as the two of you walk over the threshold of the building._

"_Not too well, unfortunately for me. The first time I met the mech was when I was stationed on Earth, right before the battle at Autobot City. We were setting up roadblocks when the city was attacked. The kid fought well, but that wasn't enough." Kup looks down at you for a moment. "I want to warn you, if you knew Blue before, the one you are about to meet isn't even a shell of what Blue used to be."_

_You look up at Kup and nod your head. The back of your mind warning that this is uncharted territory for you. Whatever Bluestreak has turned into may be so different, you may not know how to handle yourself. _

"_Are you going to be okay?" Kup asks, seeing the physical signs of the battle being waged in your head._

"_I don't know. The last time I was at a hospital, it was because my mother had died in a car crash." You walk up to the door, realizing you didn't even get a chance to take in the building, you were so lost in thought. You have no idea where you are. "Is there where Bluestreak is?"_

"_Yes." Kup enters in a code and the door opens. _

_You walk inside and the door closes behind you. You look around the room and notice how sparse it is. There is a bed of some sort in a corner, and in the corner of the bed sits the hunched form of a mech, the same gray color as the volunteers._

_They took away Blue's alternate mode! Your head shouts. Why would they do that? You walk over to the bed, your head is the only thing that reaches the edge._

_Bluestreak is trembling on the bed, wrapped up in a ball. You can hear the internal workings of the mech, moving and churning inside. Using what upper body strength you have, you climb onto the bed and slowly make your way to the mech, who hasn't even noticed you in the room._

"_Blue?" You say, placing a hand on the nearest leg. Bluestreak doesn't open up, instead starts to rock and crash into the wall. No wonder they took away the hard metal exterior. Could have caused massive damage with all the banging into the wall._

"_Bluestreak, do you remember me?" There is still no response. Only the continual crash of Bluestreak hitting the wall. You think for a moment. You have no experience with this sort of issue, but whenever your daughter got scared, you used to sing to her. _

_You open your mouth and sing the first song that pops into your head, a lullaby your grandmother used to sing to you. For a moment there is no response, then you can see Blue's eyes peering at you. _

_Seeing this as a good sign, you continue singing. Blue opens up a little more and stops the rocking. As the song ends, Blue is sitting against the wall looking at you. That wasn't so hard, you say to yourself. _

_The happy thought is quickly extinguished as Blue starts to screech in a high pitched tone. An arm makes contact with your side, causing you to fly off the bed. _

"_You shouldn't have come back, it's too dangerous!" Blue shouts, standing up and walking toward where you are frozen to the floor. _

_Kup is standing over you in moments. "Easy there Blue, there's nothing here to hurt you." _

_You stare up at the two mechs, fear etched onto your face. _

"_Easy for you to say." Bluestreak snarls. The high pitched shriek starts up again and Blue starts to jump around the room. _

_Slowly tears start to streak your face as you remember the vibrant, young bot you had met years ago. That image is replaced by the scared and lost being before you. Kup picks you up as others walk into the room and inject something into Blue's arm, rendering the mech unconscious. _

_You watch in stunned silence as Bluestreak is picked up and unceremoniously dumped onto the bed. Then, as quickly as they had come, the others leave the room, leaving you and Kup to stare at the unmoving form on the bed._

"_Phaser, you okay?" Kup asks softly._

"_I'm not sure what's more horrifying. The thought that someone I used to consider a friend just attacked me or how said friend was treated." You stare at Bluestreak through teardrop lenses. You can feel the wetness in your eyes._

"_I think we should go." Kup says, turning you away from your friend and leaving the room. _

"_Wait a minute, take me back." You say, turning to look up at Kup. The Autobot looks at you for a moment, then nods, taking you back into the room. You motion to be placed on the bed, next to the sedated form._

_You kneel down next to Bluestreak's ear and speak. "I am so sorry Blue. I had no idea this happened to you. I'll do everything in my power to get you the help you need." You place a hand on Bluestreak's head and close your eyes. Then you turn toward Kup, indicating you are ready to go._

_You hop off the bed and immediately feel pain over every inch in your body. Realizing the adrenalin that your system has been pumping into you in high doses has ceased, you are now feeling the pain._

"_Ooh," you hiss through clenched teeth._

"_You okay?" Kup asks, extending a hand for you to sit on._

"_I feel like I've been hit by a car." You try to laugh. "No pun intended."_

_Kup walks you back to the Science Center, at which point you are wishing you had a Jacuzzi and pain medication. You almost wish you could fall asleep to mask the pain, but you see Rodimus waiting for you at the door to Perceptor's lab._

"_What happened?" Rodimus asks, looking at your grimaces of pain._

"_Kid's like you, thinks one person can change the world." Kup says, handing you off to Rodimus. You look up at your new carrier and force a grin._

"_What?" Rodimus asks in pure confusion._

"_We tried to talk to Bluestreak and ended up getting back handed off the recharge berth. Wouldn't be surprised if there are broken bones in mass quantity." Kup opens the door to the lab and the three of you enter._

_Perceptor is cooking up some sort of chemical mixture, probably the same mixture the earlier volunteers received. With one look at you, Perceptor snatches you away and puts you on a table. Within moments there is a three dimensional picture of your body floating a few feet above you._

"_Well you certainly picked a good time to change your form. All of your ribs on the left side have been shattered. Your arm is dislocated and the radius has broken away from your carpals. Your sternum is completely dislocated and one of your ribs has punctured a lung. It's a wonder you aren't coughing up blood right now." Perceptor says to you. _

_At this time you are ready to pass out, but keep going on pure iron will. "Guess there's no going back now." You say, thinking fate has it in for you._

"_We could get a couple of human doctors up here, but it would all depend on when we would be allowed to start up the space bridge again. The fact that Rodimus was able to come so soon after you is a miracle." The image disappears._

"_How soon would Phaser last if we held off until human doctors could be brought here. Couldn't we just wait to return to Earth?" Rodimus asks, complete business._

"_There is no telling how long it would take for shock to set in, followed by stasis. Humans need their lungs to breathe, but with one lung completely destroyed, there's no telling how long the blood will take to flood the inside. As soon as that happens, it will be like choking, a rather unpleasant feeling, or so I am told. Then it would only be a matter of minutes before there would be nothing that could be done. At most, I would say we have maybe three quarters of a human hour." _

_There is no feeling or sympathy in what Perceptor has just stated, because there is no reason to sugar coat anything. You are going to die if you don't do something._

"_Couldn't the Traalian water be used to repair the damage?" Rodimus asks, watching as your eyes start to glaze over slightly._

"_Hypothetically, yes." Says Perceptor. "The process could be used to fix issues, but in this state, it would be much easier for Phaser to change into a spark and merge with Primus to be reborn, then to try to think of all the intricate pieces of the human anatomy. The spark, although a complex structure in itself, is a lot less detailed than even the human body." Perceptor comes over to you and watches as blood starts to ooze out of your mouth. _

"_Besides, Wheeljack," at the name, you take a deep intake of breath and start to hack blood droplets into the air. "Has an extra protoform in the Council Chambers for such an emergency." Perceptor indicates you. "I would say this counts as an emergency."_

"_The humans' governments are already on edge about us, so do whatever you need to do." Rodimus says._

_By this time everything seems rather far away to you. You are aware you are still in the Science Center, but you feel like you are being pulled away._

_You can hear someone ask what Perceptor is doing and you can feel the mech maneuvering your head to the side. Then you hear in your ear, "Phaser I need you to relax. This might hurt, but the odds are the pain receptors in your body aren't really going to care that I'm about to put a hole in your head."_

_You can hear and understand what Perceptor is telling you, but you aren't even able to acknowledge what you are hearing. You feel slight pressure on the right side of your head, then mild pain that quickly vanishes. It's almost like your pain receptors have stopped working because of the bombardment you had received recently. _

_You can't feel what is going on, but Perceptor is perfectly happy to tell you. "This substance is living metallic tissue, not unlike the skin that houses our protoforms. It is going to bond to parts of your brain so I can give you a picture to concentrate on. When you have concentrated enough on this picture, I am going to have the Traalian water vapor sprayed on you and your outer essence will be stripped away, leaving your soul inside of the makeshift spark."_

_You try to tell Perceptor to do whatever, but at this point you don't feel too well. There is a wave of nausea followed by insane cold. Then, as if by magic, you are seeing a picture in front of your eyes. Unlike the room around you, this picture is in clear focus and reminds you of, well, the spark Ratchet had shown you._

"_Phaser, I need you to concentrate on the spark. There are going to be pictures flashing in front of your eyes, explaining the genetic type makeup of the spark. You need to concentrate on that in order for this to work, do you understand."_

"_Yes." You are surprised you can answer, then realize that you and Perceptor are not communicating out loud, this is happening in your head. Perceptor grunts in agreement and then the picture changes slightly. Then it changes again. Soon you have a pretty good idea what a spark looks like, but can't seem to remember why you need to remember it, you just need to._

_You feel the wind start to blow mist over you from somewhere and wonder if you are at the beach. You look around for your daughter and son; you wouldn't be at the beach without Gabriel and Jemima. You can hear yourself calling for them, but you still can't see the beach._

_You start to panic and feel like you have jumped into the water of the ocean to search for them. You come up for air one more time and submerse yourself. You try to open your eyes, but it's a fruitless endeavor. Then you realize you've stopped breathing and everything goes black. _

**GG GG GG GG GG**

"**Perceptor is waiting in the lab for us." Erector says after a few minutes of silence. "Seems the mech is pretty excited about this opportunity, seeing as how I wasn't interested in volunteering for this little project."**

"**That does bring up an interesting question 'Rect. Why didn't you decide to do this project you and Perceptor have been working on?" Wheeljack asks, lights blinking a darker blue color.**

"**Someone besides Perceptor needed to be in charge of the whole project. You know how Perceptor gets, reminds me of a movie I used to watch called "The Absent Minded Professor"."**

**Wheeljack laughs, causing you to be jostled slightly. You turn around and grip the nearest finger, hoping you don't fall off. This causes Wheeljack to not only laugh louder, but Erector to join in.**

"**Some humans have an innate fear of falling, I happen to be one of them." You snap. How could they laugh at someone else's expense?**

"**I'm not going to let you fall." Wheeljack says calmly. Then, as if to prove a point, puts the remaining hand in front of you, so you can hold on. You wind your arms around the hand and hold onto it like a baby with a security blanket. "Don't you trust me?"**

"**I don't know you, how can I possibly trust you yet?" You say, not taking your hands away from Wheeljack's.**

"**All I can give you is my word. We'll probably be working closely for the next while, might be better if you learned to trust me."**

"'**Jack, I recommend letting trust come slowly. It took me a while to learn to trust all of you, and then to have to trust you as comrades, instead of just friends." Erector says. **

"**Were you a human at one point?" You ask Erector, looking over the side of your perch.**

"**Good deduction. I was. That was a long time ago, though. I can hardly remember when I wasn't part of the Autobots. Of course, part of that could have been due to the memory loss that occurs when transferred into this existence." Erector motions to the body.**

"**Were you male or female?" You ask, still looking down.**

"**I was a male when I was human. Cybertronians have no concept of male or female, so now I am neither."**

"**I've got a lot of questions about this culture I've jumped into." You say, peering at Wheeljack.**

"**The best way to get information is to request the information from someone else. How should I put this?" Wheeljack looks toward the sky for a moment. "The Bluetooth technology you use with electronics on Earth, do you know how that works?"**

"**Something to do with radio waves and sharing information from one mechanical device to another." You say, recalling your Jawbone headset and your Blackberry. "That's about all I know."**

"**That's more than some." Wheeljack chuckles, then continues. "We have a similar process for sharing information here when you are in close proximity to another mech or an information terminal." **

**Wheeljack walks to a wall that looks like it houses an ATM machine. "This is an information center terminal. You can tell because it has this symbol." Wheeljack points to the symbol. **

"**Now if I say I want to learn about Optimus Prime's creation, I ask the terminal. Then it uploads the information to my CPU. I have the knowledge stored in my memory databank and can use it when I need it."**

**You look at the terminal for a moment. "How can I send information to someone else?" **

"**Why not try to get information sent to you first?" Wheeljack says, putting you in front of the terminal.**

"**Okay." You think for a moment. There are so many questions you want to ask, but where to start. "What is the difference between a human and a Cybertronian?"**

**Within seconds there are a mass of pictures flashing in front of your eyes. No, not eyes, optics. You watch as there are charts, diagrams, articles, books and any number of other items stored in your head. **

**It takes almost two minutes for all the information to process. When the information has been sent and stored in your CPU, you turn and grin at Wheeljack. "That was intense."**

"**A cable connection is still faster, just like on Earth, but this is the fastest way to get information."**

"**Tell me about the bond project." You ask, still sifting through information in your head. "How is that different than this one? Can't you just Bluetooth, or whatever it is you call this process, instead of doing this "sacred" act instead?"**

**Wheeljack looks at you, with what you assume is surprise, for asking this question. "You saw how long it took for the information to be sent to you and you had to be relatively close. In fact, you can't be more than two-hundred fifty feet from the receiving mech in order for the information transfer to work."**

**You nod your head in understanding, so Wheeljack continues. "A bond will allow the other mech or mechs to know exactly what you are thinking at the same time you think it. That can shave precious time off during delicate situations."**

"**Now wait a minute here," you say, a touch uncomfortable with the revelation. "I don't know if I like the thought that five others will know what I'm thinking at all times."**

"**That's the beauty of this process though." Erector says, jumping into the conversation, excited. "You can block the bond with a thought and open it up again. You don't have to let the other being into everything, just the information they need to be privy to."**

**Erector runs ahead of the two of you, causing Wheeljack to halt. "A bond such as this is the process of merging two or more beings into just one, with multiple personalities. Conjoined twins on Earth don't know what the other is thinking unless the other tells them, this process works the same way."**

"**So I'll have to set a wall of sorts up to keep them from delving in too far." You look at both bots, who nod. "How do I do that?"**

"**That's something you'd have to ask a person who has been bonded before." Wheeljack answers the question. The three of you stop at a door and Wheeljack enters in a code, causing the door to open. You see Perceptor standing next to a table, grinning like mad.**

"**The questions you have will have to wait for a bit. Perceptor wants to inject you with the chemical before you're introduced to your new team mates." Wheeljack says, placing you on a table.**

**When the hand Wheeljack is holding you with is suddenly not there, you topple over and land on your back. You shut your optics for a moment and open them, only to see three faces looking at you.**

"**Guess I'm a little tired." You say, trying to sit up.**

"**That, and in need of nourishment. I'm going to hook you up to an energy transference device when I get you to your assigned quarters. You'll meet your team mates in what would be twelve hours to you." Perceptor says. **

**Perceptor takes your arm and sticks you with a long needle looking apparatus and starts to inject, what looks like a gallon, of fluid into your system. It makes you feel a little light headed, but nothing you can't handle. **

"**Phaser doesn't have assigned quarters. All the volunteers were supposed to be staying together for the duration of the tests." Erector tells Perceptor. **

"**Well that won't work, there will need to be someone who has experience with the Energon unit at hand. I can't do it, I've got to run my proposal to the new High Council or this project will be dismantled before it has a chance to start." Perceptor says, looking at both Erector and Wheeljack.**

"**I'm just a builder and designer, I have no practice in all this Cybertronian Anatomy and Physiology stuff." Erector answers quickly.**

**You notice Perceptor looks at Wheeljack for a moment and have a feeling they are talking to each other, possibly using that same process you had used to speak with the computer earlier. **

"**I can take Phaser to my place and keep an eye on things." Wheeljack looks over at you. You nod your head in agreement, then end up shutting your optics. **

GG GG GG GG GG

_You hear voices, but are not sure where they are coming from. They seem to be coming from inside and outside of you, but wheret are you? You can't feel your arms or your hands. You can't feel your face or the beating of your heart. In fact, the only thing you feel is the gentle humming sound you are also hearing clearly. _

_What is going on? You ask yourself, trying to remember what happened. You were searching for your kids. No, that wasn't it. You had gone to see your friend in the mental hospital. Which hospital, you aren't too sure of at the moment, which friend seems to be eluding you too. _

_Wheeljack! Something had happened to Wheeljack! But what, and why do you even care right now? You haven't seen Wheeljack in almost a decade. _

_You hear a voice, slightly closer to you, what's it saying? It's saying to get ready to become one with Primus. What the hell is that all about? Isn't Primus the one who created Wheeljack and the Cybertronians?_

"_What's going on?!" You shout, but no one hears you. _

_Suddenly you feel as if you are being shocked by static electricity from every angle of your being. It feels like you are floating on the electric current. How; you have no idea._

_Within a few moments, or days, you aren't sure, you stop your movement. You can feel heat from somewhere, then you feel as if you are being eaten. Something is absorbing you. This must be how a drop of water feels when it joins with the lake._

_Peace! You have finally achieved peace, but someone is telling you that this isn't a forever feeling. Soon you will be back where you belong. You have been initiated into the Cybertronian society and will soon be a full fledged member. _

_You can hear ghosts from the past welcoming you. You hear the unborn asking you what it's like. You hear one voice, Primus, telling you all will be right with the light and you are soon going to be able to see, hear, feel; just like the Autobots._

"_Why do I have to leave?" You ask._

"_Because your journey isn't over."_

"_What is my journey?"_

"_Only what you make of it."_

"_Why are you letting me join with you?"_

"_I will turn away no one who asks for sanctuary." _

"_Why?"_

"_It is against my nature to turn my back when someone needs my help."_

"_Are you God?"_

"_No."_

"_Then why do you care?"_

"_If I am able to influence you into repaying someone with the same kindness as I have shown you, then that is enough."_

"_But what if I don't repay someone?"_

"_Then it is your choice."_

_Before you are able to ask anything more, you feel yourself breaking off from the feeling of peace. Then you feel the same electrical current you felt before. How long ago was that?_

"_Wait! I have more questions!" You shout. In the back of your mind you can hear the whisper of someone telling you to live life and the answers will come to you._

_You search for the voice that was speaking with you, but can no longer feel it. In frustration you close down your mind, hoping this is all just some strange sort of dream, and you will wake up soon. _

20


	5. Bonding

Don't own

I have been told it is all but impossible to tell reality one from two on cell phones. Do yourself a favor, don't read something this long on such a small screen. You don't want to ruin your eyes.

Bonding

"Are ya gonna let us out of here!" You shout at the cameras you know are keeping watch over you and your group. Moonrock and Barrage, obviously the youngest of the entire group, are playing a strategy game of some sort in the corner of the room. Blast Master and Missile Master are dismantling the door components, no doubt trying to get everyone out.

Then there is Heave. Heave seems to be rather annoyed with you, though you haven't had much contact with the mech. You shout some vulgarities at the camera and walk over to sit next to Heave.

"We've been in here for far too long. They can't keep us in here!" You complain, to anyone who will listen. Heave glares at you, stands up and stalks to the far off wall, doing a rather good impression of a brooding James Dean. "Okay." You say to yourself, not sure why there is bad water between the two of you.

Just as you stand up to see how the game between Moonrock and Barrage is playing out, the door opens and in steps another mech, this one also short. Everyone in the room stands up to greet this new mech. You scowl.

"What the hell do you want Raul." You spit out, immediately surpassing Heave's sour attitude.

"I haven't gone by Raul in years Phaser. You all can call me Erector." Raul says to the group.

"Are you a fragging human too?" Heave asks with distain.

"I was." Erector says patiently, obviously used to some amount of distrust from others.

"What is it with turning humans, organics, whatever into Cybertronians? Is nothing sacred anymore? It's against Primus to change one's life." Heave shouts.

With that short burst of anger, you realize why Heave is angry. You were a human, not only a human, but one who pledged their life to the Autobot cause and then went AWOL. No wonder there was such distrust.

"There is nothing we can do about the past Heave, we need to worry about the present and the future." Erector says, still staying patient.

"Whatever." Heave walks back over to a berth and sits down, face toward the ground.

Erector looks at the remaining four Cybertronians and you. If you could you'd roll your eyes. You walk forward and stand a few feet from the mech. "What are we going to do today?"

"Today the six of you will bond with one another."

If you were still a human, all the blood in your face would have dropped to your feet. Bond! They wanted you to bond with five other beings? You search your databanks to see if this had come up at all during your questions. You don't recall.

"You want us to bond with one another?" You ask, a hitch in your voice.

"That was part of the plan, that's why we asked for volunteers." Erector says, looking at you curiously.

"You didn't know?" Blast Master asks, coming forward and putting a hand on your shoulder.

"No." You choke, going into your mind; recalling the last time bonding had come up in a conversation. You force the memory out of your mind, wishing you could just disappear.

Missile Master looks at Erector. "I have no problems with bonding when everyone was informed, but I cannot possibly bond with someone who wasn't aware that was part of the bargain. There is an ethics program in my processor."

"Everyone here has an ethics program." Blast Master states.

"Humans don't." Heave says quietly. The entire room looks over at Heave, who is now standing by the berth instead of sitting on it. "Humans are a stain on existence, and I never would have volunteered for this program had I known I would have been bonded with one."

"This program may be scrapped Heave, so shut your vocalizer." Erector snaps. Erector walks over to you and puts a hand on your other shoulder. "I'm going to speak to Perceptor, are you going to be okay."

You look at Raul, he had known what happened between you and Wheeljack all those years ago, so you can see the remorse in those optics, even though Raul no longer existed. You nod, slowly, feeling as if your consciousness has left your body and you are now floating above everyone else.

Erector leaves the room and you are led over to a berth by Blast Master. You sit down and try to erase the anguish you are feeling right now. You look into the face of your future bond mate. The mech seems to be sympathizing with your situation, without even knowing about it.

"You had a bond mate before?" Comes a soft question. Everyone else in the room is listening to you intently.

"No." You say, equally soft.

"You believe this to be a sacred act between two mechs?"

"No. I believe it to be something you do with one or more beings you care about. I didn't know they were planning on doing a science experiment using the bond."

Barrage walks over and sits on your other side and reaches for your hand. Your first impulse is to back away and sit in a corner. You flinch slightly, but Barrage holds your hand fast. You look over and see the same kindness emanating from Barrage's optics as you see from Blast Master's.

"I'm sorry." Is all anyone can say. If you could, you would cry. This wasn't what you had signed up for. To have spent hours in a room with a bunch of strangers, only to find out you are going to be bonded with them. They are going to know everything you had and hadn't done.

GG GG GG GG GG

**Consciousness comes back to you slowly and soon you feel yourself waking up. You open your eyes and expect everything to be blurry, but everything is crystal clear. You turn your head slightly and notice you are not in your bed, you aren't even in your house. **

**Slowly, you sit up and look around. You don't know where you are and panic slowly sets in. You put your legs over the side of the berth and realization hits you. Yesterday wasn't a dream. You look at your hands and see the same gray colored skin. **

**You push yourself off the berth and fall to the ground, realizing you probably should have checked the distance because it jars your senses. "Crap!" You say, kneeling and applying pressure to your feet. **

**You get a chance to look at them for the first time and notice they are similar to your human feet in look. While on the ground you see another set of feet enter the room. These feet are much bigger then yours. You look up and see Wheeljack looking at your curiously. **

"**You okay?" Wheeljack asks, lights flashing away. **

"**So my dream about being turned into Robocop is actually true." You say, slightly amused, though slightly alarmed.**

"**Robo-who?" Wheeljack asks.**

"**Movie from the 80's on Earth, about a man who was injured beyond repair and rebuilt into a cybernetic human whose primary programming was protecting the innocent or something like that. I don't remember much about it." You say, standing up and looking around. **

**You notice there is a tube of some sort just below your arm. You reach around for it and try to pull it out. **

**Wheeljack stops you, "Don't do that."**

"**Sorry, kind of a reflexive response." You say, watching Wheeljack flip a switch on a container next to the berth. Then, with expert precision, Wheeljack removes the tube from your side. The skin grows back together, reminding you of starch and water, a solid liquid.**

"**That was interesting." You say as your skin covers whatever port the tube had been placed over.**

"**Our skin is attracted to itself, so it will close up any holes almost instantly and open up when we need it to. Gets more interesting when you are given an alternate mode. Instead of just the living metal, you have solid metal, kind of like the older cars on your planet." Wheeljack wraps the tube up and puts it away. **

"**That was to feed me?" You ask.**

"**It was."**

"**Am I getting bonded today?" You feel apprehension as you think about this. You want to go to one of those terminals and have the bonding process uploaded to your CPU.**

"**You nervous?" Wheeljack asks, catching your apprehension.**

"**A little, just like doing anything new." You try to think if you've ever done something similar to this Cybertronian marriage ritual, but can't seem to remember. "Am I going to get all of my memory back?"**

**Wheeljack looks at you for a moment before answering. "We don't know if all of your memories will return." There is a hint of displeasure in the answer, like Wheeljack isn't happy about not knowing the answer to the question.**

"**I guess it's better to miss some memories then to be dead." You say, looking toward the door. "Is this your bedroom?" **

"**It is the place where I recharge, so yes." **

"**I put you out?"**

"**No, I put you in here to keep an eye on you. I didn't recharge last night." Wheeljack walks out of the room and into another room that looks like your living room, completely crammed with stuff.**

"**Wow, I feel like I've walked into a larger version of my living room." You say, taking it all in with a smile on your face.**

"**You into organized clutter too?" Wheeljack asks, heading for a door. **

"**I am a clutter bug. I clean twice a year, whether the place needs it or not." You say, in awe at the stacks of boxes higher then your head. **

"**One of these days I'll clean this out, but it's cleaner than my lab, which is through that door." Wheeljack points to a door on the other wall. **

**You glance at the door, continuing to follow Wheeljack outside. When you step over the threshold, you glance in all directions. The hallway you are in seems to be on a second story of a building that has an open walkway. You step up to the railing and look down. No, you are not on the second story, you are much higher than that.**

**You step back and look at Wheeljack, who is laughing. "Still worried about heights?"**

"**Just a little, are we going to meet my team now?" You say, trying not to be worried about how high up you are.**

"**Come on." Wheeljack motions to the left and the two of you walk down the walkway. You enter a room and there is a clear, cylindrical tube in the center of the area. Wheeljack walks up to the tube and waits.**

"**What's going on?" You ask, looking at the tube. Within seconds of asking the question, car of sorts shows up. "Oh, I get it. Cybertronian public transit."**

**Wheeljack nods and part of the tube opens up and lets you enter. There are a few other mechs, either standing or seated, within the car. You and Wheeljack take a seat next to the door. You kneel on the seat and stare out of the tube as you speed by. **

"**Why do I not feel like vomiting?" You ask.**

"**We don't really have an issue with motion." Wheeljack says, turning to look outside with you. "In fact, that would be a major detriment when we can move just as fast as this transit tube."**

"**I can see that. I think if I was the one moving at the speeds you probably can move, I wouldn't want to have equilibrium problems." You turn and sit on the seat, looking at Wheeljack. "Can you tell me about this bonding thing?"**

"**The bonding wasn't my idea. The bonding is something that a lot of people consider a sacred ritual, one to do between someone you care for and yourself. Let them become you, be a part of you, forever. You can't change the bonding once it's occurred."**

"**If it's so sacred, then why are we doing it? I know it's for an experiment, but why disregard peoples morals?"**

"**We asked for volunteers, so those that volunteered have no problem with the requirements. You know that we are all a part of Primus. Each of our sparks are a piece of the spark that is Primus. So they actively seek out each other. If you care about someone enough to let them become you and you become them, then you bond with them. Allows the set to know what the other is thinking, feeling."**

"**So these other five and I will be the same person?"**

"**Only genetically, not personality wise. You won't lose who you are with a bond, just allow others to be with you for the rest of your lives."**

**You sit on your aft for a moment, thinking about what you've just heard. Of course this sounds interesting, it also sounds like polygamy, which is illegal in some countries. **

"**Have there been others who did this bonding thing, that were more than two people in the group, I mean?" **

**Wheeljack looks at you in amusement. "Good question. I don't know. I've never met a group like you are about to become."**

"**Is it possible to love more than one person at a time?" You ask, deep in philosophical thought. **

"**I don't know. I haven't been that lucky." Wheeljack says, standing up and motioning for the two of you to leave the transit tube.**

**You walk out of the tube and then out of the room. You stop dead in your tracks. The site is incredible, at least to you. There are mechs, of various sizes, walking to and fro. There are buildings that would rival the Duomo on any church. **

**You immediately make a beeline for an open court, Wheeljack can do nothing but follow you. You dodge large feet and various obstacles in your way and stop at a statue in the center of the court yard. **

**You see one of those terminals and immediately ask who the statue is of. The answer comes quickly, it is of Prima. Within moments you have the entire life history of the mech in your CPU. You get ready to ask more questions, but Wheeljack stops you. **

"**We are being called by Erector. We should get going. I promise to take you to a terminal and let you ask as many questions as you want as soon as you wake up from the bonding ritual."**

**You nod and follow Wheeljack toward a building on the other side of the court yard. You finally glance around a notice everything is made of metal, there is absolutely no organic material around, at least not organic as you are used to. The living metal skin you have isn't what you are used to. **

**You take a moment to feel the ground beneath your feet. The material isn't cold, but it isn't warm either. It feels hard, yet doesn't seem to hurt your feet. You can hear a kind of small clanking sound from Wheeljack's feet when they touch the ground. There is no sound when you move. **

**You, instinctively, try to breathe in the air, but nothing happens. You realize, with a quick search through the information you got yesterday, Cybertronians don't breathe like humans do. The thought does start some sort of mechanism in your lower abdominal area that sounds like the whirring of a desk fan. **

**You do another search and find out this mechanism is a cooling system that keeps you from overheating. You are so caught up in what you are learning, you walk right into Wheeljack's leg, causing you to fall backward and crash to the ground.**

"**Lost in thought?" Wheeljack asks in amusement. **

"**I was, there is so much information." You say, picking yourself up and brushing your hind end. You look where you are, realizing you have walked through an entire building and are now in a room somewhere. You see Erector and Perceptor, plus five new faces watching you with curiosity.**

"**Phaser, these are your team mates. They will be bonding with you as part of this experiment." Perceptor says, excitement showing. **

**You walk forward and extend your hand to the other mechs. They look at you curiously for a moment then at each other. Finally one comes forward and shakes your hand.**

"**I'm Blast Master, I'm going to be your primary partner." The mech says.**

**You smile slightly and nod, then ask, "Primary partner?" You look at Blast Master then to Perceptor. **

"**Let's deal with that after the bonding is complete. I want to do that before some religious type sect comes knocking on our door." Perceptor says.**

"**You are just as bad as we are." You say laughing at the ignorance of some people. **

"**We're just as mortal as you were, all mortals have faults, that's what makes us mortal." Wheeljack says. Wheeljack and Perceptor seem to speak to each other over the internal communications device, then Wheeljack leaves.**

"**I don't need to remind each of you that this is permanent. There is no going back after we do the bonding process." Perceptor says to the group. Everyone nods, indicating that they are aware of the process. **

"**This process can take a good amount of time, so you may not be aware of the passage of time and it could be quite a while before you awake from this process." Erector says. Again all nod.**

"**This is usually done by a good friend or a Prime, not just some scientist, so I am honored you are giving me the chance to perform this process on you." You can tell Perceptor is all but giddy at the chance. The nodding continues.**

"**I need each of you to come over to the table and lay down." Erector says, indicating the table. The other five walk over and seem to be showing no fear. You are a little nervous, but eventually follow and lay down next to your primary partner.**

"**Now, I need you to open your spark chamber." Perceptor says from above you. You think about that for a moment, then feel the skin pull back and show your chamber. You don't have much of a chance to think about that. The chamber opens and you lift your head to see what it looks like.**

**You can't see yours, so you sit up and look at Blast Master's. The site is one word, breathtaking. The blue is so clear, it's almost nonexistent. There is a warmth coming from the spark and you can see it pulsating in it's chamber.**

"**Phaser." You hear Erector whisper in your audio. "You can learn about the spark later." You nod and lay back down.**

"**I need you to shut down your protoform and take all your energies back into the spark." Perceptor says, bringing over a small table and placing it beside the table you are on. **

**Within seconds, you can hear the mechanics of your body halt and you feel smaller. You can feel yourself being lifted, though not with the same electrical pulses you had felt before. **

**You feel yourself being set down, you assume on the table. Then you feel someone else being set next to you. Almost on instinct, the two of you actively seek each other out. When you touch, you can feel yourself merge with the other being. This one is Blast Master. Then there is someone else and the two of you eat Moonrock. **

**This process continues until you are all one entity. Immediately you feel distain for yourself. No, you aren't feeling it, Heave is feeling it. You can see how young Moonrock and Barrage are, how curious both are about humans.**

**You and Blast Master are discussing what you are going to request as your alternate mode at the same time as you and Missile Master, your second partner, discuss the fact that this bonding process is strange. **

**You are having five different conversations at one time, with five different beings, who seem to be having five different conversations too. **

""**We can talk to each other telepathically?"" You ask the abyss. The answer comes back from Moonrock, who seems to be enjoying this new sensation. The two older mechs, who seem to be your partners, are taking all of this in stride. Barrage is worried about the age difference. **

**You immediately find out that Heave has distain for all organic life because the one who created Heave was attacked and dismantled. No one was able to find the spark of the creator, so Heave was forced to grow up quickly. **

**You realize that both Barrage and Moonrock are going to have to grow up quickly as Missile Master comforts Heave for the loss. Immediately you receive a reply from both not to worry, they were actually created for such a purpose in mind. **

**This feeling, all of you together, has given you a sense of peace, the likes of which you have never felt before. You want to stay like this forever, and you get a reply back from a few saying the same thing. Blast Master informs everyone that this will be the same, even if you are all in your own bodies, because you are now forever linked at the subatomic level. All of you are one. **

GG GG GG GG GG

Heave is staring at you from across the room. You can feel the eyes on your head as you try to cope with the news you have just received. You are expected to bond with five other beings, all of who seem not to care about the consequences. For a moment you want to wring Perceptor's neck. Then you remember it wouldn't do much as you couldn't get your hands to make it around Perceptor's neck.

You can tell the others in the room, including Heave, are feeling pity for you, even if Heave wants to send you to the event horizon of an exploding star. You look at your team mates, all of whom are eager mechs, ready to face the music. You want to turn in on yourself and die.

"Don't worry." You say softly. "I'll do it." You can hear Wheeljack in your mind, calling for you and it makes you want to scream.

"You don't have to do this." Barrage says. "Not if you're not ready."

"I'm never going to be ready for this, at least not with so many. I guess it's time someone found out what an asshole I am." You say, looking at the mechs in the room with you.

"Asshole?" Missile Master asks.

"Slang term for someone who treats someone else like they don't mean anything to them." You answer.

"Who did you treat like that?" Moonrock asks.

"It doesn't matter. Once we form the bond, all of you will know instantly. I won't be able to keep it from you."

"I refuse to bond with a coward." Heave says, walking toward you with a purpose. Heave grabs your neck and hauls you to your feet. "You don't deserve this honor."

Heave's forward attitude causes a sudden amount of alarm to run through the ranks, along with confusion. "You turned your back on us, even though we weren't at constant war with the Decepticons, you ran off when we could have used your help to rebuild." Heave snarls at you.

"Relax Heave, that's the past." Blast Master says calmly, putting a hand on Heave's.

"That's no excuse." Heave glares at you for a moment, tightening the grip on your neck. You have barely enough time to realize your feet are no longer touching the ground.

"Put me down." You growl softly.

"And what if I don't?" Heave whispers into your audio.

You want to shudder at the tone in Heave's voice, but you refuse to be bullied for having emotions, so you kick back and slam your feet into Heave's chest. This causes both of you to crash to the floor. You stand up quickly, your foot on Heave's chest, right over the spark chamber.

"If you mess with me or anyone else in that manner I will rip out your spark and eat it." You hiss. Heave looks up at you, indignantly. The other four in the room are shocked.

"Well, now that that's out of the way." Moonrock says, after a long silence, probably trying to lighten the mood.

You take your foot off Heave's chest and walk over and put a hand on Moonrock's shoulder. "It's okay kid. You treat me with respect, you'll get the same back from me." You glower at Heave for a moment, before returning to the berth and sitting down.

"I guess it's a good thing you two won't ever be partners." Blast Master says, patting Barrage on the back. Barrage still seems a little shaken at the previous altercation.

The door opens and Optimus Prime walks in. For a moment, Optimus looks at you and only you for a moment. Had you been anyone else in the room, you probably would have shrunk back, but you don't care.

"Is everyone okay?" Prime asks, scanning the room.

Everyone seems to keep their vocalizers shut, then Heave answers for the group. "We're fine."

"Red Alert called me to say there was a fight in progress." Prime again looks at you.

"There wasn't a fight, just a discussion. Tell Red to stick that paranoid head up that shiny aft." You say. This causes Heave to stifle a laugh.

"Glad to see you still have that same cocky attitude." Prime says, still looking for someone to explain what happened.

You catch on and stand up, walk to the center of the room and glare at Optimus. "The fact that vital information was kept from me, means I should be the one asking questions. As for what happened, it's in the past. No one here is going to run their vocalizer off for you, so you might as well leave us alone."

The silence that follows your little outburst can only be described as comical. You can tell no one in the room can believe you would speak to Prime in such a manner, Prime included. Mouths drop. Optics brighten in intensity. Missile Master sits down on a bench and Heave howls with silent laughter.

Heave immediately reminds you of a mixture of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. You turn to look at your team for a moment, wishing for the first time you could hear them immediately. You put out a general query to the group via the radio wave connection Wheeljack had invented, to make sure everyone is okay. You get an immediate response of awe and shock from everyone, including Heave.

"How are you so insubordinate to Prime?" Heave asks, via internal communications.

"We go way back and Prime knows I wanted to be left alone. You reply in a sour tone. Don't worry, as I said before, you treat me with respect, I'll treat you with respect."

You look back at Prime, who is looking at you curiously. You feel a small amount of regret for your attitude toward Optimus, but you are still a bit sore.

"I will leave you to your group, but I expect a little more respect for myself and any other senior officers in the future." Prime says calmly.

When the door shuts, you sit down on the floor, hands to your face. No one in the room knows what you are feeling, but pretty soon they will and you are worried they will not be too thrilled with your actions.

You don't have much time to think about anything as Perceptor rushes into the room. "You weren't told about the bonding?"

"It doesn't matter right now Perceptor. Let's just get this over with. The sooner these mechs know about my sordid past, the sooner we can forget about it and look toward the future." You say, standing up and walking over to the table in the center of the room.

Erector walks in, pushing a smaller table toward the table you and the other team mates are climbing onto.

Perceptor gazes at you for a moment. "I know you were more than willing to try anything for science, but you don't have to do this." You can tell Perceptor is worried about the mental ramifications that may ensue due to this bonding project.

"I have no where else I can go Perceptor and Blue is right. 'Jack wouldn't want me hiding away feeling sorry for myself." You say, positioning yourself next to Blast Master on the table.

"'Jack would also dismantle you for even thinking of bonding yourself to someone else." Perceptor says to you.

You look at Blast Master, who is looking on with interest at the conversation, not being nosy, but because you are in such close proximity to one another. You then look at Perceptor and say, "'Jack is dead, so I don't think I have to worry about being dismantled."

You can hear Blast Master in your head. ":You were bonded, weren't you?"

"No, we didn't get the chance." You say back, only this time you include everyone in the room.

"Really?" Perceptor asks, out loud, in shock.

"Yes and it was my fault." You say on the edge of miserable. You don't give anyone else a chance to ask any more questions, you take all of your energy from the body and open your spark chamber, waiting for Perceptor to put you somewhere you can merge with your new team.

It takes a moment, but you feel yourself being moved away from your body. Soon, you are set on a table and you wait patiently for someone else to join you. Within moments, Blast Master is on the table with you and you are drawn together. The two of you merge and then pull your remaining team into the fold.

It doesn't take too long for all five of your team mates to attack your memories, making you relive them over again. You watch them as if watching a movie, the rest of the audience completely captivated.

"Five Earth years is a lot longer than you realize." Wheeljack says to you as you pack all of your belongings into your subspace pocket.

"I don't want to feel the pain that I see in Sideswipe or Sunstreaker when they are separated for any length of time." You say, pulling out Wheeljack's first invention and hugging it to your body.

You can see sadness in Wheeljack's optics and the indigo flashing of the vocal indicators. "Can't I have you before I go?"

The site makes you want to cry, seeing 'Jack so miserable. The thought of bonding hadn't really entered either of your minds until you had been invited to join a scouting expedition. Until that time, you and Wheeljack had thought you'd always be together.

"I can't go through the pain that will be caused, don't make me." You say, feeling yourself caving slightly. Then an idea pops into your head. "I can give you myself in another way."

Wheeljack looks at you, narrow optics. "How do you mean?"

"The way humans give themselves to one another." You say, standing on the berth the two of you have shared for the last few Earth months.

"You mean that thing you did with Perceptor?"

"No, that was sex, just for science." You say, thinking of how red you would be if you were human. "This will incorporate our minds too." You say slowly, realizing for the first time, you actually have fallen in love and the thought of sex suddenly scares you.

Wheeljack contemplated this for a moment. "You want to make use of the Traalian water in Perceptor's lab, turn into humans, and 'fuck' one another."

This causes you to laugh, "No, not 'fuck'. When you love someone as much as I love you, the only way a human knows how to show it is to make love to them." You become introverted rather quickly with this statement.

"You love me?" Wheeljack says, lights flashing between indigo, pink and blue.

"I think I do." You say softly. "I just realized how much I am going to miss you when I'm gone and I think it'll hurt just as much without the bond as with the bond."

Wheeljack looks at you pensively for a moment, not saying anything, either spoken, vocal indicators or through the radio waves in your head. "I've been waiting for you to say that for months now." Wheeljack finally admits.

You look up from where you were staring. Wheeljack's vocal indicators have become solid indigo and are not flashing.

"I've never made love to someone before, I didn't have feelings for my partners." You say, realizing you sound like a sap.

"If you are willing to give yourself to me in that way, then I am a lucky mech."

Flash forward a few Earth hours.

You and Wheeljack are sitting in the back room of Perceptor's lab. The two of you are in human form, sitting against a wall, holding hands. Your heads are leaning on each others as the two of you sit in complete silence.

You feel wetness falling down your naked back and turn to look at Wheeljack. There are tears streaming down the still red face.

"This is crying?" Wheeljack asks you softly, turning in and taking a deep breath of your hair.

You reach up a finger and wipe the tears away from Wheeljack's eyes. "This is happiness. I heard once at a church meeting that when you become so happy your body can't hold in all the happiness, so it comes out of your eyes."

"Aren't we a pair?" Wheeljack says into your neck, while giving you another love-bite.

"I read in a book once about how a man cried after making love for the first time, and I didn't know people would actually do that." You say, a tear making its way down your face. "I asked my brother and my sister once when I was a kid and both of them said people only cry when they are weak and no one wants to appear weak. I guess the never fell in love."

Wheeljack turns your face and looks into your eyes. "I don't care how stupid you humans are with your emotions." Then, slowly, Wheeljack starts to kiss you again, pulling you down onto the floor.

­Flash forward five Earth years

"I can't believe we're almost back on Earth." You say excitedly to Skids, the expedition leader.

Skids looks at you, just as happy to be back to Earth. "Let me put in a call to Prime." None of you have been in contact with the Ark in five years and had it just been one of you, loneliness probably would have killed you, but as it is, nothing like that happened.

Skids turns toward the communication console. "This is Autobot Skids, requesting permission to come home." Nothing shows up on the screen. "This is Autobot Skids, does anybody read me?" Skids tries again. You only see and hear white noise.

"Jetfire, is there a problem with your internal communicator?" You ask your chauffer.

"No, I am picking up a communication from somewhere else though, the Ark doesn't seem to be responding." Jetfire states.

"Send it through Jetfire." Skids says.

Within a moment there is a picture of Blaster on the view screen. "Skids, is that you?" You hear Blaster ask.

"Blaster, what happened to the Ark's communications systems?" Skids asks.

"I'd better not say anything over the comm. system, come in to these coordinates and we'll brief you." The image statics and disappears.

Skids looks at you and the rest of the small crew, concern clear. "That was a little strange." It takes only a few more hours for Jetfire to land and you all step out onto the Autobot City Wheeljack, Grapple and a few others had been working on when you left.

You gaze around, looking for anyone you know, and see Carly standing off to the side. There are at least half a dozen mechs you don't recognize coming to greet you. Jetfire transforms and stands toward the back.

Carly sees you and runs over, wrapping her arms around your neck. Within moments you can hear her crying on your shoulder. You wrap your arms around her back and start whispering into her ear. You see everyone looking at the two of you; Daniel comes running up to his mom and hugs both of you.

"'Jack's gone Phaser, 'Jack's gone." Carly whispers into your shoulder. You feel your system stop instantly.)

""That is so sad."" You hear Moonrock say to you and the others. There is a murmur of agreement, even Heave is agreeing. You can tell Heave has issues with all organics because of losing someone close.

""I couldn't give Wheeljack the one thing because I was scared. I was a coward… and because of that 'Jack'll never know how I truly felt.""

In this form you can actually portray crying, so everyone knows what it's like to cry almost instantly. On the forefront of everyone's mind is watching you show all the grief you've held onto for so long. The back of your minds are discussing everything else you all know.

GG GG GG GG GG

_You slowly open your eyes and are staring into the face of Moonrock, who is kneeling by your side._

"_You're awake!" Comes a chipper response. _

_You smile slightly and try to turn your head. It moves, but slowly. Fragmented memories flood your mind. The volunteering, Bluestreak. Wheeljack has a picture of you. Everything else is pretty much mush and you can't piece everything else together._

"_Hi." You say, startled at your own voice. It sounds kind of hollow right now. _

_Perceptor comes into view and looks you over. Slowly the mech raises your arms, then legs to see if the movement will work. _

"_Can you try to sit up for me Phaser?" Perceptor asks. You push your hand onto the table, noticing there is no pain. Didn't you break an arm or something? You sit up and get a good look at your arm. No wonder it doesn't hurt, it isn't yours._

_Curiously you look at your legs and your other arm. You bring your foot up to your face and gaze at it, eyes wide._

"_Do you remember what happened Phaser?" Erector asks. _

"_I recall something, but I'm not sure what." You say, trying to sift through the information in your head. _

"_Do you recall your volunteering for the bonding project?" Perceptor asks._

"_I do, I think." You say, with some hesitation. _

"_I think if we bond the six of you now, your major questions will be answered." Perceptor says, picking you up and carrying you to a table._

"_Are you sure we shouldn't wait till Phaser is able to move about without help?" Blast Master asks, following over to the table._

"_The sooner we do this, the less time Phaser has had as a single entity Cybertronian, the greater the study will be. If we wait till Phaser has some bearings, it'll skew the study information." Perceptor says as the remaining team members climb up on the table._

_You look over at Blast Master, who gives you a small smile. You sit up slightly and look at the others in the group. Moonrock and Barrage both look a little nervous. Heave still has a look of distain, but that's mixed with slight curiosity. Both Blast Master and Missile Master are blank._

_You settle yourself down and listen to Perceptor ask for you and the others to shut down the body and open their spark chambers. You concentrate on that and within moments, you can no longer see. Then you feel as if you are flying, images of Wheeljack and Swoop flying with you enter your mind._

_You feel yourself being lowered down and set onto a hard surface of some sort. Within moments, there is another presence and the two of you are drawn together. The two of you start to merge with each other, feelings, memories are shared. Within moments, there is another presence and you rush toward the new presence and do the same thing. _

_It takes only a few more moments and all of you have merged into one. You think for a moment. You had been hurt and the pain is felt by all of your team. You can feel Barrage cringe at the feeling and Missile Master saying it's good to not be a human._

_Within moments you can hear Heave in your mind telling all of you that organics of any type should be eradicated from existence, since they are a stain on the universe. You dig into that feeling and find out that the one who created the body Heave had occupied had perished thanks to some other bipedal organics from a planet a good distance from Cybertron._

""_That has nothing to do with Phaser and if we are to work together, you need to put the past behind you."" Blast Master tells Heave._

_You let how sorry you are seep out into the bond, letting your new bond mates know you have empathy for their losses over the course of their lives. You feel something from Moonrock, empathy for losing your kids. _

""_My kids!"" You shout into the bond, causing all five of your bond mates to recoil. ""What am I going to tell my kids?""_

""_You didn't think of that before you jumped into this little experiment?"" Heave sneers._

""_Enough Heave."" Blast Master says to Heave from a position almost between the two of you._

""_I'm sure something will be told to your family about where you are."" Barrage pipes in at the same time as you answer the question of your kids' names._

_For a moment, all worries from all six of you float away. You can feel peace and happiness again, almost like when you had merged with Primus._

""_I don't know, but I think this is gonna work."" You hear Missile Master tell the group and there is agreement, however cautious, all around. _

18


	6. Bond Mates

Bond Mates

It takes a while for your head to clear when you wake up. You glance around and see all five of your bond mates are still in recharge on their respective berths. You can hear each and every one of them distinctively. For a moment you concentrate on a brick wall, kind of like the one the man used against the alien kids in "Village of the Damned". Within moments the constant chatter quiets down till you can hear only your thoughts, no one else's.

You slide off the berth, taking note that this one is actually lowered to your height, so you don't have to jump off of it. You see there is an energon line in your side giving you energy like an IV. You turn off the machine and unhook yourself before taking a stroll around the room.

You stop and look at your bond mate Barrage. Barrage is so young and you feel sorry for the mech, barely having time to form solid life. Moonrock is the same way, very young and rather innocent at that. Both mechs seem to have known one another before volunteering.

You can tell, just from your little bonding ceremony earlier, that neither one had much of a choice. They were sparked for this very project. How strange to be created for one purpose in life.

You glance over at Heave, who is sitting up and staring at you. Even though both of you agreed to this, neither is very happy about it. Heave is annoyed about being bonded to you, even though there is some slight remorse about your history. There is major distrust, and even though you have blocked everyone else from taking information from your CPU, you still can see what everyone is thinking. That is, if you open the block so a small trickle comes in.

"How did you do that?" Moonrock asks from behind you.

"Do what?" You ask, still eyeing Heave.

"How did you block us out? I can still feel you, but just barely. How did you do that?" Moonrock has an eager expression and you can tell the mech is interested in learning the block.

You open the bond between you and Moonrock, showing the mech how you had put up the block. Then, just to be nice, you open the process up to everyone. Even though Barrage, Blast Master and Missile Master are still completely out of it, all three of them thank you for the information and their minds start to build a block of their own.

""I still don't like you, but that was a neat trick."" You hear Heave tell you over your bond. You can tell by the way Moonrock is concentrating, the declaration didn't make it into Moon's CPU.

""If you have a problem with me, say it, don't keep it to yourself."" You spit back.

""We may be stuck like this till one or both of us dies, but all we are and ever will be is team mates. Don't for one moment think that just because I agreed to this ridiculous test, I have accepted you and your fleshy ways."" Heave scoots back and sits against the wall, using your blocking technique and completely blocking you out.

"Whatever." You say with disgust. Heave's attitude is worse than yours, or at least in your mind it is. You walk toward the door and wait for it to open. It doesn't, so you bust a hole in the wall next to the door and rip out the wiring. The door opens, and before you leave you look up at the camera. "Gotta do better than that if you want to keep us captive." Then you wave. "Hi Red, miss me?"

You're sure Red Alert is having a melt down right now, if the mech saw what you did. You walk out of the room and round the corner.

""Where are you going?"" Comes a question from Moonrock.

""Outside, wanna come?""

""Won't we get into trouble?""

""If they think they have the right to keep us locked in a room then they can stick this little experiment up their tiny aft holes."" You say to a shocked Moonrock. Heave hears the answer too and you can tell there is a grudging respect blossoming.

You halt at the end of the hallway, waiting for both Moonrock and Heave to catch up.

""What are you planning on doing?"" Heave asks.

""I'm going into old Iacon. Wheeljack's lab is still standing and I want to visit it."" Both mechs are silent as you are again flooded with memories, causing some of them to seep through the cracks in your wall to your mates.

""Guess we'll come with you, got nothing else to do, right Rockie."" Heave says, putting an arm around Moonrock.

""Oh, okay."" Moonrock agrees, though with trepidation.

You look over at Moonrock, who is shivering. ""We're not going to let anything happen to you Moonrock. I take it this is the first time out of the city?""

""Yeah."" Moonrock admits.

""Nothing to be ashamed of kid."" Heave says, showing there is a tender side under all that hostility. Kind of like you, but more willing to cooperate.

"I won't ask any of you to actually come with me. I've got to put the past behind me since I've been wallowing in it for so long. I have all of you to thank for that actually." You laugh as both Moonrock and Heave look at you with curiosity in their optics. "Before the bond, I didn't care. Now that we have become one being with six personalities, 5/6th of us wants me to join the present." You try to explain.

There is still mild curiosity, so you send over a bit of feeling and your bond mates immediately understand. In fact all of them do.

""Uh, where did you three go and why is Red Alert in here claiming there is a Decepticon plot?"" Missile Master asks through your bond.

All three of you reply at once. ""We're going to put the past behind us.""

""It takes three of you to do that?"" Missile Master continues, though there is a hint of amusement in the question.

""Red Alert's CPU just crashed!"" Barrage sends to you in amusement. All three of you get a mental picture of Red Alert spazing out on the floor.

There is a soft snicker beside you and you can't help but find the whole situation funny. ""Can't fault the mech when that's how Red's CPU was created."" You whisper through the bond. You can tell Blast Master isn't nearly as amused at this development as you get pictures of the oldest member of your group trying to calm the security director down.

""Red'll be fine if you get First Aid on the comm.."" You say to your bond mates. In the back of your mind you are actually having fun with this ability to feel, see and hear what everyone else is. This causes two of the members of your team to thank you, one to snort and the older two to appreciate your enthusiasm.

""Actually, Red here just stopped fritzing and is looking at us with confusion. Did anyone let the security director know about our new found talent?"" Blast Master asks.

""I don't know if anyone knew, other than us and the tiny group of people in the circle."" You hear Missile Master say. There is a picture of the two of them helping Red Alert sit up.

""Ask if Red is alright."" You say through the bond as the three of you walk toward the public transit tube.

""Red wants to know specifically where you are. Doesn't seem to mind the rest of us."" Barrage says, almost too quietly.

""We're all in this together kid, so there's no reason to be shy anymore."" You hear Blast Master tell Barrage. ""Barrage is right though. Red's asking for you Phaser.""

The three of you enter a tube and sit down. ""Tell Red I'm going to Wheeljack's lab.""

For a moment there is silence, then Missile Master sends, ""Red says the lab has been locked and no one knows the access code, so they've just been leaving it alone.""

""'Jack and I were pretty close, I know the code."" You say sourly. Red should have known Wheeljack wouldn't keep the lab locked permanently.

""Don't let that get you down, not everyone can read your mind like we can."" You hear Blast Master chuckle at your slight annoyance.

""This'll take some getting used to.""

""How did you figure out how to block the bond? We were all swimming in it together earlier, then you sent us a block. Where did you learn that?"" Barrage asks, this time with more confidence.

""I've been friends with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe for years. I picked up a few things from them."" You answer at the same time applauding Barrage for not being as apprehensive about your new situation.

""How did they form the block?"" Heave asks.

""They couldn't give me an answer on that, it kind of formed naturally with being twins I guess. I asked about it once and they sent me the information on what the process was for both of them, so I did what I could. I would actually pity someone who doesn't have a block, have so many voices in your head. This block will allow us to communicate with each other without allowing everything to come through.""

""But we already know everything about each other."" Moonrock says into the bond, but looks at you from inside the transit tube car.

""Our past is an open book, but anything that happens from here on out will happen only to us and we don't have to share it with each other."" You give kudos to Missile Master, who seems to have done some homework.

You look out of the tube and send a mental image to your three stationary bond mates, who seem to be speaking with Perceptor about your whereabouts. There is blissful silence for a good sized stretch of the journey, then panic sets in.

You and Heave both look at Moonrock, who is rocking back and forth.

"Rockie, you okay?" Heave asks.

"What happens when one of us dies?" Comes a frightened question. You look over at Heave and the two of you speak to one another.

""Kid has a good question, what does happen?"" Heave asks.

""I just asked that same question of Perceptor and I'll give you the information in a moment when the mech stops rambling."" Blast Master supplies.

Because of the war, there wasn't much recorded on what happens when one part of a spark bond dies, but then having six mates wasn't a common occurrence, in fact, you know the only set of more than two spark bonded sets happens to be you.

""This mech can drone on like there's no tomorrow and all this information needs to be given today, in the most complex way possible."" Blast Master says in slight exasperation. This causes the three of you in the transit tube to chuckle slightly. Even Moonrock seems to be calming down a little bit.

""Wait till good old Perceptor gets so caught up in an experiment and forgets to recharge, reenergize or take a break. It'll be as goofy as Frenzy and Rumble."" You say, then answer the question as to who you are talking about to both Moonrock and Barrage.

""Oh, this is good, Erector just came in and now the two are having an open debate as to what will happen."" You can actually see Blast Master's eyes want to roll.

""Honestly, if one of us dies, it'll hurt like the pit mentally, emotionally and probably physically, but since there will still be 5/6th of the group remaining, we will live. If more than three of us perish, then that could be another story."" Heave supplies, while trying to keep from laughing at the mental picture of Perceptor and Erector having a debate.

You look at Heave and nod in agreement and respect. The mech may be a little rough around the edges, but there is intelligence in that CPU. A general consensus flows through the bond, so the discussion stops and you continue on with your trip.

GG GG GG GG GG

_You slowly slink back into conciseness and are immediately overwhelmed by all the voices in your head. You hear someone say that you are waking up, but you don't want to wake up, too much confusion._

_You open your eyes and look right into the hopeful face of Barrage. The eagerness is like when your kids used to wake you up to come watch cartoons on Saturday morning._

""_Phaser, can you hear me?"" Barrage shouts into the bond. _

_You cringe slightly and nod your head. ""Yes, I can hear you, could you tone it down?""_

_Barrage nods and disappears from view. You sit up and look around. You are all in the same room, but there are different beds for each of you. "How do we stop all the incessant chatter in our heads?" You ask._

_Blast Master comes over to you, helping you off the bed and onto your feet. "Missile Master is over at that terminal trying to get information on that. Seems not too many mechs have gone in and added a lot about blocking bonds."_

_You think for a moment and then an idea pops into your head. ""Good idea."" You hear Missile Master say to you. _

""_Who are Sunstreaker and Sideswipe?"" Moonrock asks. _

""_They're a set of twins stationed on Earth."" You answer. _

""_How are twins made/What are twins?"" Barrage and Moonrock ask._

_You send the fragmented bits of information you can remember from your conversation with Teletran-1 over to the two. _

""_They're both pit-spawned hellions."" Blast Master says into the bond._

_You look at your primary partner. ""You know them?""_

""_I was their instructor back in the day when they had been sparked. Kind of like an Earthen teacher.""_

""_Really?"" This has gotten you intrigued. _

""_You do realize that pit-spawned and hellion is pretty much the same thing, don't you old timer?"" You hear Heave ask Blast Master._

""_I do."" Blast Master replies, calmly. ""But Phaser was a human just over 48 Earthen hours ago and may not know that.""_

_Heave is glaring at you from across the room, letting the distain for all organic life hit you full force. You actually start to think you are the one who has an issue with organics. Then you remember that whatever Heave bleeds into the bond is going to affect you and the others too. _

_It doesn't take long for four opinions to all but suppress the emotions from Heave and Missile Master points out that you are all stuck with each other, so these feelings have no place in the bond. _

_Heave does the mental equivalent of flipping everyone off and stalks to a corner and glares at everyone. _

"_I've managed to get those twins on the comm. unit, but they will only speak to you Phaser." The spoken voice actually startles you from your thoughts, as you are so wrapped up in all the voices in your head._

"_Okay." You answer and walk over to the unit and see both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, in Cybertronian form, looking at you._

"_Do you want to tell me how you're going to get us laid in that form?" Sideswipe asks._

_There is an immediate bombardment in your head, asking what getting laid mean. While you tell your mates you ask Sideswipe, "Are you going to explain how we're communicating real time when I'm on Cybertron and you're on Earth?"_

"_We're actually on Cybertron right now. We got called in by Prime to investigate some activity on the borders of Tarn. We're getting a group together to see what's going on." Sideswipe says, looking off to the side for a moment. _

"_Can you drop by here on the way out?" You ask, hoping you don't sound too pleading. The noise in your head is causing massive discomfort._

"_Sure, what for?"_

"_I'm bonded and we need to know how to stop the noise from each other." You say. There is silence on the other end for quite a while and you are sure Sunny and Sides are discussing your predicament. _

_Sunstreaker comes into prominent view and looks at you for a moment. You grimace when you hear Moonrock say the mech looks a little intimidating. _

"'_Jack's gonna have a meltdown when this gets out." Sunstreaker deadpans, though you can still tell the mech wasn't expecting this news._

"'_Jack can have a meltdown later. Right now I'm going to tear my head off if I can't stop the noise." You snap, though you don't mean to. _

"_You do realize that even in you tear your head off, you'll continue to function and still hear the voice of your partner?" Sideswipe says, doing a spot on impression of Perceptor. "Of course you'll feel a little sick… and it may take a few days for all of your energy to make it back to the spark from your disembodied head, but it won't kill you."_

"_Sideswipe, have I ever told you what a glitch headed moron you are?" Sunstreaker says from off screen._

"_But ya love me anyway." Sideswipe says in a completely excitable state._

"_Sides, I need your help." You say, and there is a chorus of yeses in your head. "I'm bonded to five others, not just one." You can tell everyone is having difficulty with the voices and everyone wants to go back into recharge, though you all know it won't help._

_Both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are looking at you in surprise. "Did you say five?" Sideswipe asks._

"_You've been bonded to five others?" Sunstreaker follows._

"_Yes, and the noise is starting to affect my thought process and I'm sure it's just as uncomfortable for my bond mates." Now the noise has blended together enough you can't make out single voices, just noise._

"_We'll be right there." Sideswipe says, and within moments the screen goes blank._

_You turn around and see the slight pain in each of your bond mates faces, though you didn't need to see their faces to know. _

"_I'm sure they'll be here soon and can help us out." You say out loud because saying it through the bond would have been lost to everyone._

_GG GG GG GG GG _

**You are currently in a state of recharge. This is such a comfortable state, you don't actually want to leave it. You know from the voices in the bond, that someone had come and sent the information on how to block out your bond mates. You remain asleep, not really wanting to wake up. **

**For the moment you are perfectly happy to be answering the bombardment of questions your bond mates have for you. They were able to get all of your memories during the initial bond, but as you are an enigma, they all have questions.**

**The thing that seems to be drawing the most attention for the moment is how defenseless human offspring are. Sure, when a Cybertronian is sparked it is naive and needs to be taught, but even a young sparkling is able to move around and communicate.**

**Following a close second is the idea of a soul. There is a debate between Heave and Moonrock as to whether the spark is actually the Cybertronian soul. You laugh internally at how defensive Moonrock is getting when Heave says that humans don't have a soul, so you are just a lifeless drone.**

**Finally, after fighting tooth and nail to stay in recharge, you start to wake up and face your bond mates. All of them seem to be interested in you, even though Heave is doing a good job of suppressing the desire. You open your optics and turn your head to face your bond mates.**

"**Does anyone know if we are actually going to be living in this room or do we get to have separate living quarters?" You ask.**

"**You will be sharing a set of rooms in the Science Center." Perceptor says, walking into the room from the hall. "I have had a set of rooms set up, similar to the boarding rooms on the Ark, with a common, adjoining, room."**

"**Do we have to share a room?" Heave asks, glaring at you.**

"**You will be sharing a room with your primary partner for now. That way you can learn more about one another."**

"**When do we get to leave?" Moonrock asks shyly. **

"**We will have you moved to your rooms later on today, you will be required to remain there for the duration of the experiment. If all goes well, you can get places outside of the center shortly." Perceptor says, walking into the room, followed by Erector and Wheeljack.**

"**Is there a reason we're in this room right now?" You ask, hopping off the berth and walking over to the table. You find it a little daunting that you are as tall as you had been as a human, yet there are twenty foot high robots as your peers. **

"**Just for today, so you can get used to each other. It is probably a little hard dealing with the bond and since there are six of you, we need to keep an eye on things. This room is monitoring your statistics."**

**You glance around the room at your partners, confusion showing rather well on your gray facial features. **

"**Phaser, are you okay?" Barrage asks, clearly worried.**

"**I don't know." You say, looking at Perceptor. "I was expecting to be able to hear everyone and I don't. Is that normal?"**

"**You can thank Wheeljack for that." Perceptor says, nodding toward said mech. "Thought it would be a good idea to get a bonded couple in here to show you how to block a lot of the bond so you don't end up damaging your circuits."**

"**But how?" You ask. "How did I learn it when I was sleeping and how did it get processed so fast? It took me years to learn what I know, it seems something like this would take some time, not happen almost instantly."**

"**Well it didn't happen instantly." Perceptor starts what you are sure is going to be a longwinded speech. "It took just over five Earth minutes to complete the download into your system. You just happened to be in recharge at the time, so you weren't completely aware it was happening."**

**Just a quick question for you though. You said it took you years to learn what you know. Well, you were a human at the time. Now you're a sentient machine, housed in a machine that you are controlling with your thoughts." Perceptor sees that you are getting even more confused.**

"**When you put a program on your computer, how long did it take for the program to work?" Erector says, seeing Perceptor causing confusion for everyone.**

"**Depends on the program." You answer.**

"**Okay, so not those programs the computer manufacturers keep under lock and key. A program that has worked for years and you just finally decided to try it."**

"**As soon as it was downloaded it could run." You say, catching on. "So this body of mine works like a computer and my spark, or essence, is running the computer from within using thoughts?" You aren't too sure about the last part.**

"**Just like sending information from your brain to your fingers in order to type on a computer when you were human, this body works the same way. You control it with your spark. You store information in your CPU and access it. The CPU isn't in your head, that's just a mess of wires, your CPU is microscopic and located within the mechanisms that make up your spark."**

"**How is the spark a gelatinous substance if it's made up of machines?" You ask, almost forgetting there are others in the room.**

"**I have an idea." Wheeljack says, before you can ask any more questions. "For security purposes, you'll need to be accompanied by one of us when you leave the compound, but I'll take you and anyone else, to some terminals outside of the Science Center and you can ask as many questions as you want."**

"**So this is a field trip and you are our guardian?" You say, inwardly laughing as memories of your grade school field trips flood your CPU. These are instantly sent to your mates and all of them get the drift and start to laugh too.**

"**What's the joke?" Perceptor ask curiously. **

"**This bonding thing is kind of fun, we can talk without the teachers knowing." This causes another slight round of laughter as you pass along a lot of information about your schools and how it's like being back in them.**

GG GG GG GG GG

"_Well Phaser, you've certainly jumped into slag creek without a life raft." Sideswipe says, trying to send the blocking information to your CPU so you can stop all the noise. _

"_Frag off." You snarl, more out of mental pain than actual annoyance._

"_Nice language." Sideswipe chuckles, sending the information to you. You drink it up like someone who's been lost at sea without any fresh water to drink for a few days. You actually can feel the water sliding down your throat._

_Within a few minutes, the noise starts to die down and you open your optics with a sigh of relief. You look at your bond mates and they seem to be doing a lot better too. _

"_That must be what it feels like to be schizophrenic." You comment, while sending the information to your mates about the meaning of the word._

"_Humans actually have that problem?" Missile Master asks._

"_They do, and it's sad how much of a hindrance it can be. Some have claimed the voices have told them to kill themselves or others." You do the Cybertronian equivalent of letting a breath out, which just happens to be starting up your cooling system._

"_Feeling better honey?" Sideswipe coos into your ear._

_You look at the mech for a moment, a placid half smile on your face. "Yes dear. Thank you."_

_Sunstreaker starts to snicker at your playful banter. Sideswipe looks over at Sunny and gives him the finger, then turns back to you. "My lovely twin over there thinks it's funny you'd volunteer for something like this without even thinking about Wheeljack."_

_That word halts your intakes and causes your bond mates to stop what they are doing and look at you with interest. You do your best to block your new thoughts on the issue, but that doesn't stop them from knowing what had happened before._

"_Wheeljack caused your divorce?" Blast Master asks._

"_No, my stupidity caused the divorce. Wheeljack had nothing to do with it, at least not physically. Mentally, I don't know and I really don't want to talk about it." You glance at the floor for a moment, finding your bearings before sending a mental plea to your mates not to press the subject. All of them agree, for now._

"_So you want to tell us what this is about?" Sideswipe motions to you and your mates. "What the frag is wrong with Perceptor, using a bond on six different mechs at once?"_

"_This is a new military strategy and I'd appreciate you not disrupting it." Perceptor tells Sideswipe from the door. You see Perceptor, along with Erector and Rodimus in the doorway, looking at you. _

"_Gentlemechs, didn't I send you to Tarn?" Rodimus asks the twins._

"_You did, but someone here forgot to get your new little science experiments the information on how to block out your bond mate, or bond mates in this case." Sideswipe says to Prime with a slightly indignant tone. _

"_I cannot believe you'd subjugate these mechs to do your bidding." Sunny says, looking at you with concern. _

"_We didn't subjugate anyone, these mechs volunteered of their own free will." Perceptor argues. _

"_Really, than how the pit does a human get tied up in all this?" Sideswipe points to you, then looks at Erector. "Better yet, two humans."_

"_Relax Sides, I helped with the idea. Phaser was injured while visiting Bluestreak, thus the change." Erector answers._

"_I volunteered just like everyone else did." You say, stepping between everyone._

"_I see you two haven't worked out your anger issues yet." Blast Master says from behind you. The mech walks forward and glares at the twins._

_Sunstreaker and Sideswipe look at each other for a moment, then back at Blast Master. "Blast Master?" Sideswipe asks, all other thoughts filed away for the moment._

"_Glad to see you recognize my voice kid."_

"_What in the pit happened to you? You were at least as tall as I was?" Sideswipe continues, clearly surprised._

"_I volunteered with the first wave of mechs to conserve energy and materials. I believe you were in stasis on the Ark at the time for Primus knows how long."_

"_Why did you change who you were?" Sunstreaker asks._

_You and the rest of the mechs in the room watch the interaction with fascination. How did Blast Master manage to calm the two down enough to have a civil conversation? You remember their personalities like your last meeting with them was yesterday, not ten years ago. _

"_I didn't change who I am, I just changed my size. This was something that really alienated a lot of mechs when the process first came out. I was treated like an outcast by mechs whom just a few days ago had been my friends." Blast Master says. _

_You can hear your bond mates send condolences to the mech and you all receive a thank you, but not to worry about it, reply._

"_I know how hard it is to accept change, especially if something has been, not only engrained into our CPU's, but also our sparks. I have faith this bond can work and can make us work better." Blast Master looks at the twins for a moment, and you feel a mentor/student vibe coming from the three of them._

"_I've seen how well the two of you work together and I believe that's because of the bond. You two have never really worked well with others, probably because you didn't know what those others were thinking."_

_Sideswipe and Sunstreaker look at each other again. Then at the group in the room, finally back to Blast Master. Both mechs nod slightly. _

"_You still don't stop talking, do you old timer?" Sideswipe says, face turning into a cheeky grin._

"_And you still don't respect authority, do you?" Blast Master asks, seriously. Sideswipe almost recoils until a similar grin plasters Blast Masters face, then the three mechs start to laugh. You can tell this little interaction has brought both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe into the fold._

GG GG GG GG GG

"Primus, Iacon still looks like slag." Heave mutters as the three of you exit the transport tube.

"I guess they figured to start small and work their way up." You say, whistling internally, although the only reason either you or Moonrock know how bad the damage looks is Heave sending both of you a mental picture of Iacon in its prime. Plus the tiny piece of artwork you had seen Sunstreaker working on.

"Do you think this mech's lab is still standing?" Moonrock asks, coming to stand between you and Heave.

"If I know Wheeljack, then it probably is." You say, taking the lead and moving around the debris that scatters the landscape.

You maneuver the three of you through streets and walkways without a thought, for although you haven't ever set foot in Iacon, you have the exact way to Wheeljack's lab memorized.

"Do you know where you're going?" Heave asks in annoyance.

"I do." Is the only response. You hear in your head Heave telling Moonrock that the response is the shortest answer you'd ever given.

""You think I'm bad, wait till I introduce you to Bluestreak. Mech talks, or used to, a mile a minute."" You say, laughing out loud and projecting a mental picture of Bluestreak's excited banter when the mech found out you were staying with the Ark.

You stop suddenly and look at the door in front of you. Although the city is in ruin, this door is relatively unharmed. ""This is it."" You say to your bond mates. You have just enough time to tell the three back in Uraya where you are before entering a code into the door.

"Nothing happened." Heave spits. "What kind of code was that?"

"Chill." You say, causing five mechs to ask you what going to Wheeljack's lab has to do with sudden cold temperatures.

""I'll tell you later."" The door disappears and another door stands in its place. You enter another code into this door and the same thing happens.

""How many fragging doors does this mech have?"" Heave all but shouts.

""Relax."" You snap. ""This is the last one. Do things in threes. Makes it safer.""

""Whatever."" Heave says, walking toward Moonrock and sulking.

You enter in the key again and the door shoots open. You walk in, Heave and Moonrock behind you. All three of you send a mental image of the lab to your other mates.

""When was the last time Wheeljack actually visited that lab?"" Missile Master asks. ""Doesn't look like anyone's been in it for years.""

""I don't…"" You are cut off by a hologram appearing in the center of the room. "'Jack?" You ask.

"No, I am not Wheeljack, at least not the one you knew. I am an interactive hologram, designed to interact with you Phaser." The hologram says.

"Wow." Moonrock says in wonderment.

"Wheeljack built sensors into the room right after you left and created this hologram, if you are seeing me then Wheeljack is dead and the room has recognized your energy signature."

"Why?" You ask, wishing you were human so you could cry. You can feel your bond mate's remorse through the bond at your twisted psyche.

"Just to tell you this. Remember, Wheeljack used to get as corny as you when the mech didn't get enough recharge." The hologram smiles at you and kneels so you are face to face.

You can feel the back of your head start to ache and your spark starts to hum in a loud tone.

"Wheeljack left a message for you small one. One to remind you of how much you meant. 'I hear on the wind your soft spoken voice, calling out to me from so far away. Our separation, it wasn't by choice, but our souls will bond; some how, some way.'" The hologram smiles one more time and then flickers off.

You are at a loss for words and for a moment feel faint. Within moments, both Moonrock and Heave have you positioned between themselves.

"You planning to die on us?" Heave asks out loud.

Moonrock gives Heave an evil glare, then looks at you. Your mind has completely blocked everyone out. The only thing you see is Wheeljack standing in front of you, vocal indicators flickering a cheery blue.

You lose all sense of reality. Everything seems to stop. You are no longer in Wheeljack's lab, you are no where. You can't even hear your bond mates calling for you through the nothingness.

16


	7. Dealing

Dealing

"**This isn't nearly as bad as I let myself think it would be." You say to Perceptor, who has you on a table, checking your spark. **

"**Then you're lucky, some mechs after they've bonded, feel smoldered and it causes them to go into stasis." Perceptor says, running some sort of scanner over you. "Case in point." Perceptor motions to your sleeping bond mates. **

"**How long will they be out?" You ask.**

"**Hard to say. Some mechs are out for a few hours, but since there are five of you, it could take a few days. Earth days, I mean." Perceptor, holds up your arm and looks at your energy port.**

"**How come I didn't get knocked out?" You ask, watching Erector scan your team mates.**

"**That's why I have you up here." Perceptor tells you patiently. **

"**Are you always this patient with your patients?" You ask, giggling.**

**Perceptor completely misses the homonym, "I have an extended amount of patients because of my function. It wouldn't bode well to run into a situation without a calm CPU."**

**You let Perceptor continue on with the study and open up the link to your bond mates. You can feel none of them and for a moment you feel so alone. It feels like part of your spark is missing without the happy chatter that has been present for the better part of the day.**

"**How come I can't feel them?" You ask softly.**

"**Internal failsafe. If something starts to bombard the spark with too much sensation, it has the ability to shut itself down to everyone and everything. Think of your bond mates as being in hibernation and when their spark has fully adjusted, they'll come back online."**

"**I actually miss them… although… I don't really know them." You say as Perceptor turns you around and you face the doorway.**

"**That's a bond for you. I hypothesize you are dealing with this better because you weren't always a Cybertronian. Your mind must have some sort of protection in it. I have every intention in studying that when this experiment is over." Perceptor says. **

"**You may not want to scare the new recruit with all of your experiments yet Perceptor." Wheeljack says from the doorway. You smile as the mech walks in.**

"**Must I remind you that because of this unique situation, we should take advantage of the study opportunities." Perceptor says, picking you up and holding you upside down by your feet. **

"**Take it easy there Perceptor." Erector shouts in alarm.**

"**I'm not about to drop my subject here. Phaser is completely safe."**

**You feel as if your equilibrium should have gone right out the window, but you feel no motion sickness. That doesn't stop your subtle fear of heights from rearing its ugly head. You shutter your optics and close yourself up.**

"**Phaser?" You hear from far away. "Phaser, you in there?"**

"**Of course Phaser's in there, where would the mech go?" You can hear the exasperation in Perceptor's voice.**

"**Phaser isn't fond of heights, so you might want to tone it down a little." You hear Wheeljack calmly tell Perceptor. You can feel yourself exchange hands and you are then right side up again. **

**You open your eyes and send a thank you across the radio waves to Wheeljack. **

"**I think you should let Phaser out of confinement for a while." Wheeljack says. "I made a promise to show Phaser to an information terminal."**

"**There's one in the room." Perceptor says pointing to the terminal.**

"**Perceptor, I know how you get… and I know how I get. We get excited about something we forget we are working with living beings. I've already had my aft chewed out by First Aid and Rodimus. I think it would be best of you let Phaser have some time to adjust since there hasn't been any adjustment time yet." Wheeljack says with very little emotion. **

**Perceptor and Wheeljack square off for a moment, until Erector intervenes. "Alright you two, listen up. Coming from a mech who was once a human, Wheeljack has the right idea. You can't let your drive affect anyone." Erector hops up on the table and looks at Perceptor. "Let's not forget who we're working with here."**

**Perceptor looks at you, thoughtfully, for a moment, then looks at both peers. "Am I really that clueless?" This causes both other mechs to laugh. **

"**You act like you need to get laid." Erector says, clapping Perceptor on the arm. That phrase starts you snickering. The thought of Perceptor getting laid could only be done by someone who was willing to do a science experiment. **

"**What does getting laid mean?" Perceptor asks, causing you to go into an all out cackle, Erector right behind you.**

"**Look it up buddy." Erector says, walking over to you.**

"**If I were still human, I'd have tears in my eyes." You snort, looking at both Perceptor and Wheeljack. Perceptor looks highly confused and Wheeljack has a look of bemusement. For a moment you wonder how their faces can portray any emotions, but you put that aside.**

"**You go with Wheeljack, learn about Cybertron. Perceptor and I can monitor your bond mates and let you know when they wake up."**

"**I think I'll know instantly." You say, looking at your bond mates one more time, then jumping off the table. You head toward the door, then stop and turn around and walk toward Heave.**

""**I don't know how we're going to work, but if you can hear me, let's at least try to keep this going. I don't know what I'm going to do without all of you now."" You are looking at Heave while you say this, probably because of the strain between you two, but you project the thought to all of your mates. It saddens you not to get a reply back.**

GG GG GG GG GG

_You feel almost lethargic right now and watch as Perceptor and Erector take readings from you and your team. You can tell through the bond that every single one of you is fighting to stay online. _

_It doesn't take much longer and you feel Barrage disappear from your mind. This causes you to cry out, but you realize the five of you, who remain awake, are crying out at the disappearance. Sideswipe kneels down beside you and looks into your optics._

"_What happened to Barrage?" You choke back; then feel Heave succumb to the same fate. "Where's Heave?" You ask, slightly panicked. _

"_Relax, they're just shutting themselves down for a time." You hear Perceptor tell you from across the room. Perceptor is looking at Heave while Erector is trying to keep Moonrock from jumping off the berth and running toward Barrage. _

"_Why?" You ask slowly._

"_I actually know the answer to that question." Sideswipe says, then the mech looks over at Sunstreaker._

"_Great, the giant ten year old knows an answer. Please, oh great one, teach us." Sunstreaker says, sarcasm dripping off every word._

"_You know the answer too Sunny." Sideswipe says._

_You look at the twins, as Perceptor looks to be a little bit busy. You notice that Moonrock has managed to break away from Erector and is now sleeping with Barrage. You feel Moonrock slide away from the bond, causing another jolt of pain to emanate from deep within. _

"_What happens to your computer at home when you download too much into it too fast?" Sideswipe asks._

"_It starts to slow down, shuts off, crashes… maybe." You think, although it's rather hard to think when part of you is shutting off. You feel both Blast Master and Missile Master go offline and disappear into nothing._

_This causes you to cry out again, and then everything stops. There is no more pain. You now feel lost and completely alone, but the pain has subsided._

"_What happened? Where did everyone go?" You ask, sitting up fast and looking for your bond mates._

"_Rather fascinating how fast the six of you imprinted on one another. Do you miss them?" Perceptor asks, walking over with a scanning device of some sort._

"_Great bedside manner Perceptor. Maybe you wouldn't be so unemotional about what just happened if you had bonded with someone." Sideswipe snaps at Perceptor. _

"_This is just an experiment." Perceptor answers with an air of indifference. _

"_Scientists." Sunstreaker murmurs and walks out of the room. You look at Sideswipe for a moment and hear that Sunny isn't nearly as open about bonding. Sunstreaker is only staying around because Sideswipe actually finds the process interesting._

"_I'm sorry, again." You say to Sideswipe. _

"_What for? Sunny's always had a great disposition." Sideswipe laughs. _

"_I mean about everything. I run off, disappear, come back, change myself, allow myself to be used for an experiment. Not the sanest person am I?"_

"_You find me a person who thinks they are sain and I'll show you a liar." _

_This causes you to laugh and Sideswipe joins in. "I guess you're right, like the Cheshire Cat said, we're all a little mad. I just went a little off the deep end this time." You look at Perceptor, moving Blast Master to the table and attaching all manner of mechanisms to the mech._

"_What am I going to tell my kids?" You say, looking at your gray hand._

_Sideswipe gives you an incredulous look. "You went and reproduced?"_

"_I did. I've got a boy, Gabriel. He's seven now. I've also got a little girl, Jemima, she's just about five now."_

_Sideswipe turns to look closer at you. "I've seen the Witwicky's with their son, in fact I was very recently on the losing end of an argument with both of them. How is it you were able to even think of traveling to a different planet when you have kids?"_

"_Momentary lapse of judgment." You look at Barrage and then Moonrock. "Those two kids," you point the two out. "They remind me of my kids. I don't know why. I guess it has to do with the loss of memory. I know my kids, I know their names, but I care more about my bond mates than my own kids."_

_You stare at Sideswipe with a look of sadness for a few moments. "I don't even know why I feel like they were never mine."_

"_I don't know how to respond to that question, you're getting too deep for me." Sideswipe says, standing up. "I'm going to go find Sunny. We'll say good-bye before we start off."_

_You nod and watch the mech leave the room. Perceptor is working with Erector on Blast Master. You walk over to the berth Heave is on and pick the Mech up. Carefully, you walk over and put Heave down beside Moonrock and Barrage. Then you fetch Missile Master and do the same thing. You climb onto the berth and wrap your arms around your available bond mates and close you optics. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"**This is all so strange to me." You say to Wheeljack as the two of you walk through the city. You nod slightly at the mechs who pass the two of you, but keep up the talking. **

"**I am honestly shocked I haven't gone into a meltdown yet. I should, by all rights, be freaking out right about now, but I'm not. Does that have anything to do with the memory loss?" You ask as the two of you enter a metallic park. **

"**If I were more like Perceptor, I would be curious to study your reactions. I honestly can't say why you are being calm about this." Wheeljack says. The mech startles you by transforming into something you recognize.**

"**What's with the race car? You've been watching too many Herbie movies." You say, laughing at the Lancia design. **

"**This is the design Teletran-1 gave me when we woke from stasis. I figured you might want to trip down memory lane."**

"**I've never ridden in a race car. How is that supposed to take me down memory lane?" You ask, walking around the car. "Are you really in there?" **

"**Of course I am. I haven't lied to you once."**

"**I know that." You say, feeling embarrassed. "But how did you do that?" **

**Wheeljack jumps back up, ear fins flashing bright blue. "Now you're asking my kind of questions."**

**You back up slightly and laugh. "You going to show me the mechanics of the transformation?"**

"**I'm a mechanical engineer, it's what I do best." Wheeljack reaches out a hand to you and you take it readily. **

**Within moments, the two of you are flying overhead. "Holy shit!" You scream, grabbing Wheeljack with your other hand. You look over at the mech with pure horror in your optics.**

"**Take it easy. I'm not going to drop you, I already told you that. This is the fastest way to my workshop." Wheeljack tells you calmly. You nod your head and turn off your optics, hoping the amusement park ride is over soon. **

"**You're going to miss the city if you shut your optics." Wheeljack laughs. You shake your head. "Silverbolt was the same way at first, but the mech realized fear can hold you back. See what happens when you overcome your fear."**

**You open your optics and look at Wheeljack, then where the mech happens to be pointing. You see a plane flying. Not just a plane, but one from Earth. "Is that a concord?" You ask curiously.**

"**That is Silverbolt in alternate mode, which does happen to be a concord." Wheeljack says. **

**You watch as the plane does a nose dive and then, just before hitting the ground, pulls up and into the sky again. Silverbolt is joined by four others and soon the group is doing an air show worthy of the United States Air Force. **

"**Silverbolt was afraid of heights. Why did the concord become the alternate mode of someone whose afraid of heights." You say, completely forgetting you are in the air.**

"**Prime had Ratchet and I create the Aerialbots as a way to combat the Decepticon Seekers. Silverbolt is not only a flyer, but also the group leader. Still doesn't like flying though." Wheeljack says.**

"**Are you telling me this because I'm going to be flying regularly?" You ask, looking away from the flyers to Wheeljack.**

"**That is always a possibility, but look, you're not shaking anymore." Wheeljack says as the two of you descend toward the complex where the lab is located.**

**You watch as the two of you touch the landing and look over at Wheeljack. "That was a sneaky trick, but for the moment it worked." **

**The two of you walk toward the door and Wheeljack enters a code into the key pad. The door opens and you step in, Wheeljack at your heals. **

"**This place is worse than your apartment." You say staring at the clutter in awe.**

"**I know where everything is." Wheeljack says, walking toward the far wall. The mech presses some buttons and the wall opens to reveal a large monitor screen. "Didn't you say your own place looked similar?" Wheeljack asks without turning around.**

"**I did, but your stuff is so much bigger than mine." You say. The chime for the door goes off before you can say anything else.**

"**Come in!" Wheeljack shouts to the door, that promptly opens. **

**You watch as a gray colored mech walks onto the threshold and stops. This one glances around nervously then stops fidgeting when you come into view.**

"**I'm sorry to bother you Wheeljack, but Fixit wanted me to find out about the human doctor, so I came back to Cybertron on the last transport and went looking for Perceptor who said the doctor was with you… so I came here." Your eyes get wide as you process everything the mech just said.**

"**Phaser is completely fine Bluestreak. Why don't you ask?" Wheeljack says, indicating you.**

"**Are you the human doctor, the one who was attacked by the Decepticons where all the humans died? There is a lot on the news about that attack and they're saying there were no survivors, so this must be really hard on you." Bluestreak starts to babble.**

"**I heard no one lived the attack." You say quietly. "What about that Spike character, is he okay?" **

"**You were the only human to survive, we lost Spike and Chip, Carly and Daniel are all alone now and with Sparkplug on the oil rig, they've been moved to Autobot City, but I still can't believe Spike died, after all he had overcome. He lived through Megatron's attacks and Unicron and now to die when the building collapses. They say the only reason you lived was because Fixit put you into the alternate ambulance mode and drove out of the building while it crumbled around everyone…." **

**Bluestreak continues on at an alarming pace and you can no longer keep up. The only thoughts you have are for your fallen comrades and your family. You think quickly about your brother and sister, then go on to think about Debbie's kids. She has… had five of them. Yolanda had a husband in the military and was working to support her baby.**

"…**First Aid took one look at you and decided to do an experiment with your body. If you had died, you would have never known, but you lived and now you're a Cybertronian and I heard you were bonded! What's that like, I've never been bonded because no one wants to bond with someone who talks as much as I do and I don't think I could give myself away that easily, not after seeing the human race. I don't…"**

"**Bluestreak, you need to take it easy." Wheeljack says, stopping the slew of oncoming comments about everything under the sun.**

**Bluestreak looks over at you and stops talking immediately. You can feel slight pain in the back of your head as you remember all of your coworkers and who they left behind.**

"**I'm okay." You answer the unspoken question. "Just silently remembering my colleagues." **

"**You sure you still want to know about the transformation process?" Wheeljack asks. **

"**Oh yeah," you say excitedly, confused as to why you are able to bounce from somber to elated in just a second. **

"**Are you really showing Phaser the transformation process, can I stay and watch, you don't mind do you, cause I've always wanted to stay and listen to one of Wheeljack's lectures." Bluestreak looks at both of you with one of the most hopeful looks you have ever seen.**

"**When do you have to report back to the Space Bridge Blue?" Wheeljack asks.**

"**Not for a while, I've got time for a small demonstration." Bluestreak walks over to the table and sits down. **

"**I hope you're ready for this." Wheeljack says to you, helping you sit next to an overly eager Bluestreak.**

"**I don't know why, but I am so ready for this."**

GG GG GG GG GG

You open your optics and look right into the face of Perceptor. "Because of you, I had to send Jetfire to pick you three up. I also had to have someone come and install a new lock on the door and Red Alert just about went ballistic. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry." You moan in anguish. You look at the faces of your bond mates; all of them are watching you closely.

"Well you should be." You hear Red Alert off to the side. "Of all the insufferable insolence, and to drag both Heave and Moonrock into…"

"It was like Wheeljack knew." You cry out with both your voice and the bond. Since you cannot cry outside, your insides are turning into mush. "I couldn't do that one thing and 'Jack knew." You say. You feel Moonrock wrap you in an embrace inside of your head and you can hear Blast Master telling you it's alright.

"No it's not!" You shout, standing up and causing both Perceptor and Red Alert to take a step back. "If I couldn't let Wheeljack have the bond, what's to say I can make this work with you five?"

You start pacing back and forth, all of the repressed guilt you have kept hold of finally screaming into your head. It was your fault. Maybe if Wheeljack and you had bonded, the mech might have come with you on the survey. Then Wheeljack wouldn't be dead and you would be happy.

You and Wheeljack could have used the Traalian water and you could have shown the mech planet Earth from a human perspective. You could have introduced 'Jack to your family. Your mom and dad, your sister and brother, nieces and nephew. You could have done so much and all because of you, that'll never happen.

You feel as if all is your fault and if maybe you hadn't come back, Wheeljack might still be alive.

You are broken out of your little trance by a hard slap to the face. You shake your head and look at Heave for a moment, who is standing in front of you with a look of hatred, boring holes through your optics.

"Don't ever send that crap through the bond again." Heave states dangerously. "It's no secret my dislike of all organics, but this thing that happened through you and your lover, whatever you want to call Wheeljack, wasn't your fault. No one knows the future, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and buck up, as you humans say."

For a moment you are too startled to move, and so are the rest of your bond mates. You can feel the shock through the bond, but you can also feel the comfort. They all feel the same way, it wasn't your fault.

You close your optics for a second and open them up and look into the face of Heave. With one smooth motion, you whip your hand around and smack Heave on the same cheek that was just violated.

"You ever hit me again and I'll bombard you with the feelings I remember Perceptor having when we did our little science experiment." You show Heave what you and Perceptor did, but kept out the noises Perceptor made.

Heave looks at you in mock horror, then starts to laugh, causing you and the rest of your bond mates to join in. "I've got to hand it to you, when you're not acting like a human, you aren't half bad."

You look around the room and the looks on the mechs who aren't bonded to you are priceless and this sends all six of you into another bout of laughter.

"Does someone want to tell me what the pit is going on?" Red Alert demands.

"Relax Red, these mechs are going to be just fine." Erector says. You watch the mech leave you and your bond mates alone in the room, but not before winking at you.

**GG GG GG GG GG  
**

"**Okay, so let me get this straight. You fold up like some kind of puzzle and it becomes a car?" You look at Wheeljack for a moment, then over at Bluestreak. "What do you transform into?"**

"**A Datsun." Comes the shortest reply out of Bluestreak's vocalizer yet. **

**You walk over to the blueprints Wheeljack has sprawled out over the table and look at them. You run your finger along the lines, then walk over to run your finger along the same seam in Wheeljack's chassis. You continue this silently for about fifteen minutes, by your chronometer. **

**After you are satisfied you've memorized the blueprints you walk back over to Wheeljack. "So these tires are your back tires?" You say pointing to the tires on the shoulder. Wheeljack nods. You jump off of the table and land next to 'Jack's feet. "These two pieces hook together by electronic bond and this becomes the hood of the Lancia?"**

"**Jeeze 'Jack, this one's smart." Bluestreak comments on your learning skills. "Took me a while to learn how the mechanics of it worked, I had to go to a school of sorts that the older mechs send their creations to. I enjoyed it till…" Bluestreak's vocalizer sputters and the mech stops talking. "I've got to go." Without another word Bluestreak walks out of the room.**

**After gaping at the disappearing mech, you look at Wheeljack. "Is Bluestreak going to be okay?" You ask.**

"**Blue's had it rough. Kid's as tough as nails on the outside, but I have a feeling the inside is pretty messed up." Wheeljack says, putting the blueprints away. **

"**What happened?"**

"**Don't know, kid won't talk about it. Blue's a lot younger than I am. I'm what they call an original, before all the cosmetic stuff came about. I was created when it was about molding the mind and the original mechs didn't worry about outer appearances. Bluestreak came along millions of Earth years later. Then of course we spend a great deal of time in stasis on Earth."**

"**So Blue's still just a kid?"**

"**Mentally, yes. Four million years is a lot of knowledge Blue missed out on. Blue reminds me of the kid in that "Patriot" movie we watched a while back. Rather eager; and it killed him. I hope the same doesn't happen to Blue."**

"**So you don't have a mouth?" You ask out of nowhere.**

"**No, my creator didn't think I needed one. I was created for the lab environment. We spoke using a form of what you would call Morse code." **

**You stall for a moment in your questions, realizing you've just jumped from one conversation to another without much of a bridge. "Sorry about that jump. I think whatever happened to my bond mates is finally catching up with me and I need a nap or something."**

**Then, just to prove your point, you feel yourself fall and everything goes dark.**

_GG GG GG GG GG _

_You open your eyes slowly and notice all six of you are on the same berth. Perceptor is over against a wall, speaking with Rodimus and Erector. You see Sunstreaker sitting on a bench next to the table. There is a pad of paper like material on the table and you are sure Sunny is creating another masterpiece._

"_Sunstreaker?" You ask from the pile you are in the center of. The mech looks over at you and nods. "How long have I been out?"_

"_Not long, maybe twenty minutes. Check your chronometer." Comes a dry response._

_You check and find out you haven't been out long, but you still can't feel your bond mates. You open up the bond and put out a generic call and get nothing back. The feeling of loss comes back full force and you suppress a shudder at not knowing where your mates are._

_The door to the room opens and Sideswipe walks in and looks at the drawing. Sunstreaker motions over to you and Sideswipe walks over. "We're leaving now, we'll be back at some point, dead or alive."_

_You are too drowsy to say much of anything, so you nod your head in understanding. _

"_Sunny went and tracked someone down, who came as fast as possible." Sideswipe whispers into your audio. _

"_Who?" You barely ask. _

_Sideswipe points to the door and you almost gasp. Wheeljack is standing in the door, looking the same as the last time you two had spoken. For a moment the lights flash indigo, then go back to orange, then yellow. The two colors repeat themselves. _

_You lock optics with Wheeljack and the two of you stare each other down for quite a while. You no longer hear the noise in the back ground and wonder if the conversation has stopped, like in those movies when the long lost lover returns. _

"_Wheeljack?" You ask. The mech starts to walk forward, but you can't keep your optics open and the last thing you feel is someone touch your arm._

GG GG GG GG GG

You look at your bond mates after everyone else has left. It seems that you all are one now, not six. This causes a flood of emotions to wash over you from all six of your mates.

You glance over at Moonrock, who seems to be sleeping standing up. You walk over and lead the mech to a berth and then realize you are just as exhausted. No, not exhausted, just slowing down, like a computer that has too much in the hard drive.

You glance at your other bond mates, who seem to be having the same issue. ""We all need to recharge, something is going on with your systems and if we keep going, we're all going to crash."" You send a mental picture of a computer crashing through the bond and all of your mates are in agreement.

Barrage walks over to the berth you and Moonrock occupy and sits down on the other side of you. Blast Master and Missile Master follow and soon the five of you are waiting for Heave.

You glance at Heave expectantly.

""As long as no one walks in and thinks were having a human orgy or something."" Heave says. You send a mental picture to the rest of your bond mates about an orgy, causing some of them to shudder and Barrage becomes intrigued.

""I'll hook you up with some folks after this experiment is over."" You say into the bond. Then, with your arms wrapped protectively around both Moonrock and Heave, you offline and sleep.

14


	8. One

Sorry, I still don't own and it's safe to say I will not own throughout the duration of this story.

One

"**God, I feel like I have a hangover." You say in a strained voice.**

""**What's a hangover?"" The part of your group that is Moonrock asks. You send an explanation through the bond to your mates and receive back a multitude of questions.**

""**What's a Krebs Cycle?"" Missile Master asks.**

""**Are you giving us some sort of organic virus?"" Heave asks.**

""**We don't require water to function, so how do you have a hangover?"" Moonrock asks.**

"**Look it up on the Earth Internet, no, and I don't have a hangover, I just feel like I have a hangover." You answer out loud to the group as a whole.**

**You open your optics and see everyone else is still in partial recharge. You can tell they are waking up, or they wouldn't have understood what you had said to them.**

**You let your optics adjust and then decide it's still too bright in the room, so you get off of the bed, causing Blast Master, who was using you as a pillow, to moan. You smile as you pad over to the light switch and realize you are too short to reach it.**

"**What glitch decided to make the light switches eight feet high?" You complain. You then feel yourself being lifted off the ground. Heave is lifting you up to turn the lights off. **

**You realize that you are standing on top of Heave's hands, so you are a couple of feet higher than the light switch, so you bend your knees and turn off the lights.**

"**Thank you." You say as Heave lowers you to the ground.**

"**You were right, the lights are too bright." Heave looks at you and then the rest of your mates, who are slowly starting to sit up. "I no longer feel distain for you and it worries me."**

"**I fail to see how that is a bad thing." You reply.**

"**It probably is a good thing, but you had memory loss when you were transferred to this existence." Heave motions to your body. "What if the loss of memory has been transferred to the rest of us?"**

"**What if it's because no one else had distain for Phaser and you just let it go because of the bond?" Blast Master asks from the berth, where your other mates are staring at you.**

"**I don't mind not having it, it actually feels good, but I want to make sure memories aren't being erased." Heave says, starting to sound like you might.**

"**That is a good question." You say, making your way back to your mates, Heave follows. For some reason, the distance is actually mentally painful right now. You and Heave climb back onto the berth and the six of you huddle together.**

"**Is this normal?" Barrage asks, voicing a concern all of you are feeling right now.**

"**I don't know, none of us had ever been bonded, that was a requirement." Missile Master answers the younger mech.**

"**You don't think we're going to lose our individuality?" You ask, wanting to go to a terminal and ask the question. Then something hits you. "How did I get here? Last thing I remember was being in that lab of Wheeljack's, all of you were out."**

"**Come to think of it, what caused us to crash and not feel each other?" Blast Master asks. You all look at each other for a moment before Blast Master starts up again. "I think we had an overload."**

"**Too much information caused our CPU to crash." Missile Master completes the information.**

"**Why couldn't we feel each other though?" Barrage asks. You realize these questions are going to be coming quickly because no one really knows what happened and no one is willing to delve deep enough into anyone else to see if there is an answer.**

"**When all of the computers at the hospital go down, they stop speaking to each other." You say, remembering the computers crashing on New Years in 2002. **

**All of your bond mates look at you with interest, waiting for you to continue. "All of the computers are linked with one another, that way the information typed about a patient is available to everyone at a moments notice." You start even though you could very well just send the information over the bond. **

"**We had an outage at the hospital once that caused all of the computers to go down and we realized as the IT department was trying to fix the hardware connections, they had all stopped speaking with each other."**

"**But we're speaking to each other now." Moonrock states.**

"**We're a lot more advanced than a computer system from Earth." You say. **

"**How come I knew you were going to say that before you opened your mouth?" Barrage asks softly. All of you can tell Barrage is worried about sounding ignorant.**

"**Because we're no longer six individuals. Were one individual with six minds." Missile Master answers Barrage, putting an arm over the mech's shoulders.**

"**That's what happens when our existence starts out as one being, who breaks off pieces of their existence to create us. We bond and become one again, but with six personalities." Blast Master says. **

**You look at yourself within your six bond mates. ""How is it that I am able to join the five of you when I wasn't part of Primus to begin with?""**

""**Because deep down we're all made up of the same thing, humans, Cybertronians, even the stars."" Heave says, causing everyone to look at the mech. It takes a fraction of a second to realize the answer.**

"**Energy!" Moonrock exclaims excitedly. "You became part of Primus because of energy."**

**You smile at your mate and reach out for Moonrock's hand. "I guess that makes sense." Then you look around the room. "How about we go experience this planet of yours as a group. I have a feeling that now we are awake, we're going to be getting our alternate forms and I want to see this planet before I have to change."**

**Your mates look at you and all of them nod. You all agree, this will be interesting, but better to have some fun before the tests begin.**

GG GG GG GG GG

"_Wheeljack?" You hear someone other than you voice. Why was someone else asking for Wheeljack?_

""_I guess I got that from you?"" Barrage says into the bond. ""Wheeljack was here?""_

""_I thought so, but that could have been a hallucination."" You say back into your bond._

""_What happened to us, why did we black out?"" Missile Master asks quietly._

""_I think we crashed because of an information overload."" Blast Master answers the question._

""_Are we going to die?"" Moonrock asks._

""_I don't think so."" Heave answers. ""Why do I not despise organics anymore? It's not because of the memory loss Phaser experienced, is it?""_

""_I doubt it. That wasn't a virus or anything, that was more of a system limitation we posses. The human brain can hold endless amounts of information."" Blast Master says to the group._

""_How do you know all of this?"" Moonrock asks._

""_I got the information from Phaser when we bonded. There was so much transferred to each of us from one another that we couldn't handle it all and slowed down. Kind of like getting sick, to a human.""_

_You all mentally nod, realizing that you are pretty much of one mind at the moment. You open your optics and then shut them quickly._

""_That was much too bright."" You hear Heave say into the bond._

"_I'll go turn them off." You say, slowly sitting up. Your bond mates stay down with one another. You slide out from under Moonrock and Barrage, who seem to have been using you as a pillow, and turn to jump off the berth. "Wheeljack?" You ask._

"_Really?" Moonrock asks, sitting up, followed by the remainder of your bond mates._

_Over in the corner, asleep on a table, is the form of Wheeljack. You recognize the winged projectiles on the mechs back._

"_Wheeljack really was… is here." Moonrock says, standing next to you. _

"_Why do I feel like Wheeljack means something to me?" Barrage asks, standing on your other side._

"_Because Wheeljack meant something… means something to me." You say correcting yourself. "I just don't know why."_

"_It was your subconscious." You hear Missile Master say behind you._

"_Why are we all feeling that now though?" Moonrock asks, staring at the prone form in the corner._

"_We're one being now, with six minds. One being who has the same knowledge, passions, desires each of us used to have before we bonded to one another." You say, jumping off the table. You notice none of your bond mates follow. "You aren't coming."_

"_We may be of one mind kid, but that mech is your friend, not ours." Blast Master says, taking your place between Barrage and Moonrock. _

_You walk, stealthily, toward the recharging mech by the table. The last time you saw Wheeljack, the vocal indicators were pink and indigo. Now they are a pale green color. _

""_Wheeljack is dreaming."" You hear Barrage through the bond. _

""_How do you know that?"" Heave asks._

""_Phaser knew that, so we know that too."" Missile Master states. _

""_When Wheeljack wanted to test the new additions, I learned what some of the colors meant and I told the mech I would like to see the green. I didn't quite get it back then, but I think Wheeljack was inviting me in and I was too young to notice."" You say, watching the green color dance._

""_How could Wheeljack know those type of feelings after knowing you for one day?"" Heave asks, curiosity spilling through the bond, making all of you curious._

""_When you've lived as long as us older mechs, you tend to see things clearer than when you're just sparked."" Missile Master answers. _

""_How old are we?"" Moonrock asks._

""_By my chronometer, we're just a few days old, while each of these personalities may have been alive many millennia before, now that we are one, we are just a sparkling again."" Blast Master answers._

_You listen to the side conversations and continue walking over to the table. You climb up on the chair Wheeljack isn't sitting in and crawl up onto the table. Slowly, you maneuver your way to the edge, right next to Wheeljack's face. You stare for a moment, remembering how kind this mech had been to you._

"_I'm sorry 'Jack." You say out loud. You glance back over at your bond mates, who are watching you with interest. Then you turn back toward Wheeljack and find you are looking into bright blue optics._

GG GG GG GG GG

""How long have we been out?"" You put into the bond, hoping it hasn't been too long.

""It has been too long. Based on Earth time we've been out almost three days."" Blast Master answers you.

""I don't want to get up, wake us in a few more cycles."" You hear Moonrock moan. ""Why did I say that?"" Comes a curious question.

""Because that's something that Phaser used to say to those creators as a teenager, Rockie."" Heave says into the bond.

""Why would you say that?"" Moonrock asks you. You can feel the mech grab your arm and wrap up into you like you are a blanket.

""I was a teenager. Human teenagers are supposed to be difficult to our parents as penitence for how they treated their parents."" You say, completely comfortable holding onto the young mech.

""Why would we want to treat our creators like that?"" Barrage asks, reminding you of a kid.

"We don't have to kid, it's just the way some people are." You can hear Blast Master tell Barrage behind you.

"Why do I feel we should treat Perceptor and Erector like that?" Moonrock asks, still clutching your arm.

You sit up, bringing Moonrock into a sitting position too. "They are our creators. That and you have all of my memories of how I treated my parents as a human." You say, watching all five sets of optics fall on you.

You look over at the two eldest of your group. "We're no longer six beings are we, we're one."

Blast Master nods. "We became one while we bonded…"

"That's why we're feeling each other's opinions on this situation." Missile Master finishes the sentence.

"No wonder I no longer want to wring your neck Phaser. The fact that these other four didn't want to has erased my feelings." Heave says snidely.

"Don't worry, I feel like slicing my own neck off now." You say, causing all five of them to ping with various forms of the word no. "Relax, you know I'm not going to do that."

Blast Master stands up and hops off the berth. "We have to tread carefully right now. We're all new to this bond thing. Instead of trying to deal with one other personage in ourselves, there are now six of us. What we think and feel will influence each other to a great extent, even with the block Phaser set up for us."

Blast Master shuffles over to the terminal and tries to reach it. Within moments of realizing the terminal is too high, both Missile Master and Heave are there to pick the mech up.

"I'm going to tell our creators we're up, no use in wasting time doing nothing right now. I think our little cerebro-circuit crash took care of all the problems any of us were having with each other. Now all we have to do is learn to work as one."

You delve within the mind of your bond and realize everyone is in agreement. Although you had all been distinct personalities, which still show up on the top layer, every single one of you is now combined with the other. There is no more group, just you, with six personalities.

7


	9. Old, Young and Disagreeable

Old, Young and Disagreeable

"**So this place is called Uraya?" You ask as the six of you walk down a street. You and your team have decided it's best to travel in a direction opposite where you have been as you probably won't run into anyone any of you know.**

"**This place was called Uraya because the city that this one is built on was called Uraya." Missile Master says, showing everyone in the bond what the city had looked like before.**

"**It's so…I don't know the word, but it is." Moonrock says, slightly alarmed at the size of the mech walking toward you. **

**You look at your mates in surprise. "Is there no end to how big we can be?" You look back at the mech as it continues strolling down the road without a care in the universe.**

**Blast Master looks at you and grins. "There are very few that size anymore. Probably an original model, like Wheeljack. You think Jetfire is big, you should see the size comparison to Unicron." **

"**Who's Unicorn?" You ask, still looking at Jetfire, who is easily ten feet higher than Perceptor. **

"**Not Unicorn." Barrage says, laughing like a child. "Unicron, the opposite counterpart of Primus."**

"**Similar to Satan and God?" You ask, looking around. You get an unspoken query regarding your question from all of your bond mates, so you send the information to them.**

"**That's a passable comparison." The six of you make it to a building that reminds you of the Eiffel Tower in France, just on a much larger scale.**

**Barrage grabs Missile Master's hand and shakes it. "Can we go to the top?" You laugh inside as the mech reminds you of a child. This spawns a number of questions that you want to ask instead of sifting through your CPU to find the answers.**

**Missile Master looks at each one of you and you all agree the trip up to the top could be interesting. You put up the block for a moment, earning concerned and alarmed looks from your bond mates.**

"**I'm okay, just don't much like heights and don't want that to seep through." You say, and although it is true, that's not the only reason you closed off the bond. You want to ask questions without your mates prying. **

**The six of you enter a lift and soon start to ascend into the sky. "What were you doing before this experiment came along?" You ask. You look back into the bond, knowing full well that the fact you were a human made your mates overly curious about you and not the rest of your companions.**

"**I was created for this." Moonrock states. "Barrage and I were sparked within a short time of each other and were raised with the knowledge we'd be joining this faction."**

"**Doesn't that annoy the slag out of you?" Heave asks the two young mechs. **

"**No." They say in unison. **

"**Why?" Blast Master asks, leaning against the side of the transport. **

"**They knew nothing else before the bond and now that the bond is in place, they don't have a choice." Missile Master supplies. **

**There is an unspoken agreement as you all see that you were, inevitably, created for this bond and there was no choice in the matter.**

GG GG GG GG GG

You sit on a counter, in the corner of the room, watching your bond mates interact with one another. Though you are all comfortable with one another, and you notice that all five of your mates look at you from time to time to make sure you are there, your mind is having trouble.

You decided to close out the bond entirely, causing massive panic for a time, just to keep your concerns from radiating to your team. You aren't sure if you feel love for these beings you have become; more a dependency. You loved…love Wheeljack, but aren't sure if you can ever feel that way about your mates.

You watch each of them closely. Missile Master is at the console, looking up the effects of bonding on a mech. Blast Master is working with Barrage on techniques to calm one's CPU. Heave and Moonrock are playing some sort of video game.

"Penny for your thoughts." You turn and see Bluestreak standing next to you. The mech had obviously snuck in and no one seems to pay any more mind when you tell your mates who Blue is.

"That's a rather human term, you've been spending time with Daniel again?" You say, not taking you mind off of your team.

"I enjoy the company of humans." Bluestreak pulls up a chair and sits next to you.

"I'm confused I guess, but then again I'm not." You say, looking over at Bluestreak.

"That's a rather hard predicament you've gotten yourself into then."

You laugh softly, keeping the bond blocked so your team mates don't hear you. "I think I liked you better when you didn't shut up. I don't like this philosophical Bluestreak. I think I broke you."

"You didn't break me, you saved me. I don't think I could have handled losing everyone." Bluestreak and you hold each other's gaze. "I probably would have had a relapse."

"I'm glad you didn't, but you matured so quickly in ten years." You look at your bond mates, still off in their own little universes. "I aged in a few short days. I've got the memories of mechs who are millions of years older than I am and I can't tell the difference anymore about whose memories belong to whom."

Bluestreak starts to giggle. "So you're telling me you're old."

You shove the mech playfully, though you aren't strong enough to make Bluestreak budge. "Thanks a lot. It took the combined efforts of five other beings to make me grow up and I still don't know if I want to."

"There's nothing wrong with being aged." Bluestreak says, watching your mates with interest.

"Did you know that Blast Master was an instructor before this war? Worked with Sunny and Sides. Or that Missile Master was one of the first sentient mechs in a smaller sized body. How can I, a lowly human who ran away, live up to that?"

"You still think too much." Bluestreak says, standing up. "I have an idea. I haven't been thrown in the brig for a while, how about I steal you," Bluestreak motions to your bond mates, who are now looking at the two of you. "All of you, away to Earth till Perceptor finds me and turns me into a can opener?"

The look on your bond mate's faces and the idea makes you laugh. "You are going to be dismantled and shipped off to Galvatron for that."

"If it gets us out of this fragging room, then let's do it." Heave says, dropping the controller to the video game.

You open the bond and all are in agreement. You have a feeling the only reason all of you are in agreement though is because four out of six of you would have jumped at the chance anyway, and poor Blast Master and Missile Master are kind of at your mercy.

GG GG GG GG GG

_You and Wheeljack hold optics for almost an eternity, or what seems like an eternity. Both of you study each other like you study a painting at some museum that catches your fancy. You slowly reach out with your gray hand and touch the vocal indicator._

"_Green." You whisper. "You were sleeping, dreaming?"_

_Wheeljack continues to look at you, not speaking, but the vocal indicators are still flashing yellow and orange, occasionally pink. You can hear your bond mates as background noise in your head. _

_You slowly withdraw your hand and put it on the table you are crouched on. You cock your head to the other side, listening to your bond mates asking what you are doing. You jump back in surprise when Wheeljack stands up and leaves the room without glancing back._

_You sit back, hard, on your aft, watching the door close. Misery slowly creeps into your spark as you feel as if it's been wrenched out of your body and smashed up against a wall._

""_I thought I held a grudge."" Heave says to you in the bond. _

""_I don't think so."" You hear Blast Master say. You feel the mental caress you are being given by your mates, then Blast Master continues. ""I think Wheeljack realized there was never anything there and decided to leave.""_

""_You're getting that from me."" You say in total dejection. ""I'm the one who thinks that and the thought is bleeding into the bond. No one else has any idea what just happened.""_

_You feel Heave hop up onto the table, then help the rest of your bond mates onto the table as well. "We make one pit of a team. We've got the old." Heave points to Blast Master and Missile Master. "We've got the new." This time Heave points to Moonrock and Barrage. "Then there's the two of us, who are the disagreeable."_

_An arm is extended to you from Barrage and you use it to hop to your feet. "I'm nowhere as disagreeable as you Heave." You say to your mate. Then you eye your other mates. "I have to say, this was the easiest rejection I've ever had. I don't think it would have been nearly as easy if I wasn't bonded to you."_

_You smile at your bond mates and make a suggestion. "I think we should go see the city before Perceptor corners us and makes us do whatever." The fact that Wheeljack acted like you weren't important doesn't matter to you in the least._

"_Good idea." Missile Master says, hopping off the table and holding arms out for the rest of you. ""I am surprised I actually agree to this, I'm not one for jumping into something.""_

""_That's the bond. If the majority of us like the idea, it will influence the rest of us until we are able to control the bond better."" Heave answers. _

""_I have a question."" Moonrock asks the bond. ""I feel myself getting smarter, are we smarter as a group or is this because some of us were smart enough to influence others' intelligence?""_

_The group ponders that question while Heave dismantles the lock on the door and sets you all free. While you walk along the hallway Blast Master comes up with the best answer for that question._

""_I think we were either average or above average intelligence. I myself was average before the bond. I was better at the military strategy. I think our intelligence is the average. Heave seems to be the most intelligent of our group. Now that we are one I'd say we are above average.""_

_The six of you manage to get out of the building undetected and walk across the street. Seeing the city through six sets of optics is a lot different than when you had seen it through human eyes just a week ago. _

"_This place seem to change on you?" Heave asks in your audio. _

"_I don't really remember much about it before I was changed, but I'm seeing it through six sets of optics right now and what each of us is seeing it slightly different." You say, looking at a couple of mechs apply color to a building._

"_We're all seeing it that way." Blast Master says, also watching the color application. _

_While watching the color, you feel apprehension bite you on the aft and feel a hand grab yours. Moonrock is watching a fight on the other side of the street and you use that knowledge to steer clear of the chaos. _

_The six of you continue walking and reach the art studio, where you mention Sunstreaker's art work. You send a mental image of the various pieces you had seen to your bond mates, since no one really wants to journey inside of the building. _

""_How long do you think it'll take for us to be ourselves again?"" Barrage asks._

""_This bond may have played with our minds a little, but we are still ourselves kid."" Blast Master says, putting an arm around Barrage like an older sibling. ""We may be of one mind and have started over as a group instead of six individuals, but we still have our own thoughts. It'll just take a while to sort everything out.""_

"_How do we know all of this?" Moonrock asks, glancing over at Blast Master, who is at the end of your little row of people. _

"_I don't think I knew that answer, I just heard it in the back of my CPU." The mech answers out loud. _

"_This whole asking questions in the bond and aloud is rather freaky." You comment to no one in particular as you see flying Cybertronians performing aerial acrobatics. _

"_Half the time I don't know whether the question, comment, or whatever is in the bond or spoken anyway." Heave says, watching the flyers and shuddering. _

_The six of you stop and watch the flyers move, gracefully, in the sky. Though your memory is shot, you remember your fascination with the sky and flying. The memory of Wheeljack taking you to the sky comes to mind._

"_Maybe you'll get to fly with your new alternate form." Blast Master says to you. _

"_As long as I don't have to, Phaser can do whatever." Heave says, showing everyone the underlining fear of flying._

""_You do realize that if any of us has a flying alternate mode, then you'll feel the experience too."" Missile Master states matter-of-factly. _

"_Don't remind me." Heave snarls, walking away from the group. _

_The five of you watch as Heave stalks off. No one calls to the mech, not knowing what to do about Heave's disposition._

"_Heave is rather disagreeable." Barrage says, before chasing after the mech. Within a second, Moonrock follows._

"_Never thought of myself as a follower." You say to Missile Master and Blast Master, before you too head off, the elder of your group following you. _

_Before you catch up to your other bond mates, who are in the process of scaling a statue, you can't help think that everything that has happened has happened too fast and it worries you there might be a train wreck at the end. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"Do you realize how much slag you two are going to be in when Optimus finds out you're here?" Ultra Magnus demands.

"Optimus can kiss my shiny gray aft." You say to the towering mech.

"This wasn't their idea Ultra Magnus, it was mine." Bluestreak says in your defense, while giving you a look to can it.

Ultra Magnus ignores your lack of manners and looks at your bond mates. "Is this true Missile Master?"

"Relax Magnus, we didn't have to come, we chose to come. All of us are at fault." Missile Master says, grinning at your team.

"I have a hard time believing a mech such as yourself would follow along with the plans of mechs who act like sparklings." Magnus glares at you and you kiss your hand and slap your aft.

""Enough Phaser."" You hear Missile Master through the bond. ""Magnus doesn't know about the bond, but we went through the academy together, although I was treated like a drone by most, Magnus always treated me like an equal."" "You'll have to forgive Phaser Magnus, the mech is a little disagreeable at times."

"I trust you implicitly." Ultra Magnus states, then turns back to Bluestreak. "I'm going to have to report your actions and you are responsible for them while you are here Bluestreak."

"Understood." Bluestreak salutes Ultra Magnus, who in turn does an about face and walks off.

"God, that mech has a pipe shoved up his aft." You say, causing a few of your mates to giggle and Missile Master to glare. "Sorry." You say softly.

"You really are old if you went through the academy with old Magnus." Heave says, trying to get the feelings of contempt out of the bond that you are so lovingly supplying to your bond mates.

"Magnus is strict, but fair. Magnus can also be fun." Missile Master says, sending not only your bond mates, but Bluestreak via radio waves, a memory of Magnus and a group having a street race.

This causes you to laugh, which is contagious; soon all of you, plus Blue, are laughing at the thought of Magnus, street racing.

"I shouldn't give the mech a hard time. I had only met Magnus once before going with Skids, Beachcomber, Mirage and Jetfire on the expedition. When I came back and 'Jack was gone, I wasn't too happy. I was rather distrustful of anyone new and I didn't mind letting them know about it either. Rodimus actually threw me into the brig for two days before I made good my escape." You say, sadness seeping through the bond. "I should probably say sorry to the mech."

"I'll hook you up with that right before I'm thrown into the brig and the key is disposed of." Bluestreak tells you. "Perceptor is going to have kittens."

You are immediately bombarded with questions about kittens. "Where'd you pick up human phrases like that?"

"Spent way too much time with the likes of you and the Witwicky's." Bluestreak states. "What would you like to do?"

"We're in Alaska, right?" You ask as the six of you, plus Bluestreak exit the city. "Why don't you take us to Juneau for the day? Human's are still okay with us walking around?"

"Yeah, but if you haven't noticed, Datsuns aren't very multi-being friendly. I've only got two doors." Bluestreak says.

"Sunny and Sides still on this forsaken rock?" You ask, looking around at the scenery.

"Yes, they're probably in the brig though."

"Can we break them out?" You ask, sending evil thoughts to your bond mates about jail breaks.

"Can't we get into trouble if we do something like that?" Moonrock asks. You can tell there is some slight apprehension from all of your team mates.

"I'm sure we can, but I could always break us out again if we get put into the brig." You say, your mind already made up. "It'll take me less time to get them out than for all of us to go down there. Blue, take everyone else to the road block and wait for us there." You say, turning around and leaving your peers behind.

GG GG GG GG GG

"**It's so pretty up here." Barrage says, peering over the edge of the tower. You have planted yourself in the center of the court, while your bond mates gaze out at the horizon. **

"**Phaser, you should come and see this!" Moonrock says excitedly, grabbing your hand and trying to pull you toward the edge. **

"**I can see it fine from here." You say, trying to keep your footing and failing miserably. You are suddenly thrust toward the railing and you grab it to stop your forward motion. You know you won't fall over the edge, but this was created for taller Cybertronians, not ones that are human in size. **

"**Isn't it pretty?" Barrage asks you, with the innocence of a child.**

"**I can tell you think so and I can feel your thoughts, but yes it is pretty." You say, acclimating yourself to your current position. **

**There is a few moments of utter peace as the two of you gaze out over the landscape, then a frightened yelp comes from Moonrock, who is watching Heave scale the railing and walking on it like a tight rope. **

"**You kill yourself kid, it'll hurt like the pit for the rest of us." Blast Master warns.**

"**I won't die if the five of you remain alive, you'll keep me alive too." Heave says nonchalantly. **

"**Be that as it may, get down from there or someone will report us and we'll be shipped back to Perceptor." **

"**That's actually a lot scarier than we realize." You say, watching Heave dance along the railing. "You know, they have a name for folks like you on Earth."**

**Heave stops and looks at you, grinning. "What's that?"**

"**Stupid. Now get down before you hurt us."**

"**You're the one who thought we should get out of the Science Center." Heave says, doing a stunning back flip off the railing just the same. **

"**I don't want one of us getting killed, I have a feeling it would hurt too much." You say, grabbing Barrage's hand. **

**Missile Master starts to laugh slightly, then it goes into an all out roar. The laugh startles the rest of you, but then you all join in. "This is pretty bad isn't it. We no longer refer to ourselves as I, it's we and we're so worried about each other, it's like we were born together." **

**You look at the rest of your bond mates, each of them giving a non verbal agreement to Missile Master's statement. Every single one of you is relishing the bond and all it has done for you; making Heave more agreeable, making Moonrock and Barrage feel older and making Missile Master and Blast Master feel younger. The fleeting though in your head being, what did you do without each other?**

_GG GG GG GG GG_

"_Scaling a statue of Sentinel Prime is probably not something you should be doing." The voice behind you says, making you feel like you've been thrown head first into a bucket of ice. _

_All of you turn around and gape at Wheeljack, who is looking at you with an air of indifference. You glare back in the same manner, until the memory of flying bombards you and your team. At that memory, the feeling of friendship comes into your head, the offer of companionship._

_At this, the three monkeys climb to the ground and stand around you in a protective half-circle, with Blast Master and Missile Master. You don't speak; in fact no one speaks, at least not out loud._

""_What does 'Jack want?"" You hear Missile Master ask into the bond._

""_My guess would be Phaser's head on a platter."" Heave states, causing everyone else to tell the mech to shut it._

_You and Jack size each other up for a while before someone else speaks into the bond. ""Is there a reason the two of you keep staring at each other?"" Moonrock asks._

""_Because the seeds of something had been planted years before and now they're growing at an alarming rate and neither know how to deal with that."" Blast Master answers._

""_Fragging Primus in the pit old mech, what's with the sentimental garbage?"" Heave asks in disgust. _

""_Relax Heave, once these two work out whatever they started, then we'll stop feeling all this too."" Missile Master says, putting a hand on Heave's shoulder. _

""_Phaser, are you okay?"" Barrage asks, reaching for and grabbing your hand. You see Wheeljack eye the gesture and then return to looking at you._

"_I'm fine." You say to your bond mate, bringing the hand closer to your spark. Wheeljack watches you for a moment again, then turns around and leaves. _

"_I still think that mech is harboring a grudge." Heave says, then adds, "What in the pit was that all about."_

"_I don't know?" You say, watching the mech walk away. _

"_Come on." Missile Master says, reaching out and turning you around to walk back toward the Science Center. You allow yourself to be led away, but turn your head and glance behind you in time to see Wheeljack do the same thing._

""_Kid, you might want to keep whatever feeling you have for the mech in check, at least until we work out the bond, or all of us will be as enamored as you are."" Blast Master says to you. There is a murmur of agreement from your bond mates, causing you to block out the bond. _

_Moonrock winces at your sudden departure and looks over at you with young optics. "Why do you feel that way when you've only known Wheeljack for a short time?"_

"_I don't want to talk about it." You say, looking at the ground. Truth be told, you want to know the answer to the question too. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"Well, well, well. Look Sunny, it's a defective." Sideswipe snickers as you come into view of the cell the mechs are occupying.

"How'd you two manage to get Magnus to let you two stay in the same cell?" You ask, leaning against the wall opposite the cell.

"I could tell ya, but I'd have to kill ya." Sideswipe says, coming toward the energy beams that keep prisoners, and troublemakers, enclosed.

"Funny. You want out for a while? I need someone to take me and my bond mates into town with Bluestreak. Blue doesn't have enough room for all of us."

Both Sunstreaker and Sides glance at each other and then back at you. "You're bonded now?" Sideswipe asks.

"There are six of us."

"Wait a minute. You are bonded…to five other mechs?"

"Yep."

"And that's all you're going to say?" Sunstreaker asks.

"Yep."

Both mechs look at each other again and grin. "Work your magic." Sideswipe says, stepping back from the bars.

It takes less than five minutes for the three of you to be heading toward the road block. Initially the block had been set up to keep curious eyes from prying. Now the area is more of a land mark.

You are currently riding inside of Sideswipe, and listening to Sunstreaker grumble at having to escort mechs into town.

"You going to tell us about this little bond project you've gotten yourself into?" Sideswipe asks, clearly annoyed at the yellow twin's complaining.

"Nope. Why do you think it's a project?" You ask, looking out the window.

"Because no one in their right mind would allow themselves to be bonded to more than one other mech, unless it was for some science experiment." Sunstreaker snarls.

"The bond is a pretty powerful thing and not one that should be taken lightly." Sideswipe adds.

"Don't I know it." You say, spying your bond mates and Bluestreak.

"'Jack is probably fuming." Sunstreaker growls. You can tell the mech isn't too thrilled to hear the news that there is a group of bonded beings in the universe.

"'Jack is dead Sunstreaker." You spit back.

"You two can argue at a later point." Sideswipe says, stopping and letting you out. Within moments both twins have transformed and are looking at you and Blue. "You have anything to do with this?" Sideswipe asks Bluestreak.

"I didn't know what Perceptor was doing when I went to collect Phaser." Bluestreak says defensively.

"Lay off Sides. Blue doesn't have anything to do with this and we brought this on ourselves. All we want is a little bit of fun before Perceptor starts with whatever Perceptor wants to do." You look at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker with pleading optics.

The twins look at each other one more time. "This'll probably get the lot of us thrown into the brig for a very long time, but let's do it." Sideswipe grins.

"Breaking these two out of the brig, probably wasn't your smartest move though." You hear a voice behind you. You groan inwardly, knowing your trip has just been cut short.

"How'd you know we were here Mirage?" You ask as the invisible mech removes the cloak.

"You're not as smart as you used to be." Comes a calm reply.

"Either that, or you were on guard duty in the brig and were invisible, so I wouldn't have known you were even there." You say, looking at the now visible Mirage.

"Okay, maybe you are as smart as you used to be, but you aren't as careful, overconfidence is a weakness."

"So is being a smart aft." You can hear more mechs making their way to your little group of hooligans. You send a calm message to your bond mates not to worry. Nothing will happen to them.

GG GG GG GG GG

"**Halt." The voice shouts out, causing you and your mates to stop in your tracks. You turn around and look into the face of a mech you haven't seen before.**

"**Hello Groove." You hear Missile Master say to the mech who is moving to intercept you from behind.**

"**I have no idea what you did Missile Master, but there are a couple of mechs who want to have all your heads on a platter." Groove says, looking at you and your mates.**

"**No surprise there. Do you know how much trouble we're in?"**

"**Enough to make Rod come in on an off day."**

**This causes every single one of you to cringe. You're sure the bond amplified the thought from one of the mechs in your group who knows Rodimus better than you, but you can't decipher who at the moment. **

"**We may want to go back then." Missile Master says to you. No one disagrees. **

GG GG GG GG GG

"_Well this is a find kettle of fish." You say to your bond mates as you watch the mechs who surround you._

""_What?"" You aren't sure who asks this question, but you send an explanation of puns into your bond. _

""_We knew this wouldn't have lasted, so let's go and get whatever punishment we're in for over with."" Blast Master says. _

""_I still say we could take them."" Heave says._

"_I don't want to deal with resisting arrest, so let's just go." Missile Master says out loud, so the arresting mechs know you will all willing to follow. _

""_We're in trouble."" Barrage says softly._

14


	10. Trouble

Trouble

"**Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?" Perceptor shouts at you. You are expecting this reaction, so the fact that there is a mech shouting in your faces doesn't bother you.**

""**How much longer do you think Perceptor will continue?"" You hear someone ask the bond.**

""**I don't know, but at least we can zone the mech out and talk to one another."" Heave answers. **

""**Pay attention, the sooner Perceptor vents this frustration, the sooner we can move to the accommodations we were told about."" Missile Master says to the group.**

""**I thought we were supposed to be moved there a while ago, why didn't we?"" You ask. **

""**Probably because we all short circuited and were unresponsive for a few days."" Blast Master says, while Perceptor continues ranting.**

"**I can understand this from some of you, I mean, you are rather young, but Blast Master, you're older than I am. How could you go along with this?" Perceptor screeches, sounding like a spoiled child.**

"**The bond is affecting us." Blast Master says evenly. **

"**How much?" Perceptor stops pacing and glares at all of you.**

"**Enough that there are times when I cannot distinguish myself from my bond mates." **

"**Really?" Perceptor goes from paranoid to scientist in the course of a second. "Do all of you have the same issue?"**

""**I have that same problem. Sometimes I don't know who is actually me anymore."" Moonrock says into the bond. **

**The six of you start having a conversation in your heads and you can see Perceptor, Erector and Wheeljack looking at you with curiosity. **

"**I believe so." Blast Master finally answers. **

**Perceptor walks over to a console and asks for information on the whereabouts of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "I'm going to speak with a couple of mechs, stay here." With that Perceptor walks out of the room, leaving you with your bond mates, Erector and Wheeljack. **

"**Was this an unexpected development?" Missile Master asks the remaining scientists.**

"**I don't know what Perceptor is all gung-ho about." Erector says. "Probably wants to ask the twins if they ever had issues with that. I'm assuming that if one gets rather emotional, then it happens regularly."**

"**Has this been affecting you in a way that is detrimental to one or more of you?" Wheeljack asks.**

""**Don't say a thing."" Heave snaps into the bond, clearly thinking about the little acrobatic stunt pulled earlier.**

"**Not really." You say, hoping to ward off any more questions along the same line.**

"**I'm sure you'll get your individuality back soon." Erector says, leaving the room.**

"**If you feel any desires to do something that could get you in major trouble, let someone know." Wheeljack says, laughing. "Leaving the center doesn't count."**

"**So far, the innocence of the two sparklings is overpowering, so we haven't been too worried. None of us are homicidal maniacs, so I doubt we'll have any issues with doing something illegal." You tell the mech, who is still laughing silently as confirmed by the vocal indicators. **

**There is a little bit of discomfort coming from the bond about the use of the word sparkling, which you quickly extinguish by advising your younger bond mates how much you respect their child like innocence. **

"**We aren't planning to go anywhere. We just wanted to see the outside before we end up being experimented on." You say. **

"**You can always decline the experiment, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."**

"**You sound like someone who is trying to get someone else to have sex with them." Heave says, startling all six of you. "Where in the pit did that come from?"**

**Laughing inwardly you answer, ""You probably got that from me, since I'm the only one with sexual experience."" **

**Wheeljack is looking at you curiously, vocal indicators flashing yellow. "That comment was from the bond influence." You say, putting all present mechs at ease. **

GG GG GG GG GG

"I can't believe Ultra Magnus threw you in here with us Phaser." Sideswipe says to you from the cell across the way.

"I can, and I'm glad it was just me, not my mates. I don't want them to have to deal with this slag." You say, laughing. Bluestreak is sitting next to you, laughing right along with everyone.

"Did you see the look on Magnus's face, I've never seen the mech so mad, even when we accidentally set the Dinobots lose on the tundra and lost them." Bluestreak rambles, reminding you of your friend before the loss of so many.

"Blue, old buddy, we've missed you." Sideswipe snickers from across the hallway.

"I didn't leave; I just grew up a little. I will always be myself." Bluestreak says softly.

"Blue, there was nothing wrong with your rambling and if anyone ever tells you that, then just walk away. Just don't let the past guide you." You say, reaching over with a hand and placing it on Bluestreak's leg.

"I still don't like it in here."

"No one does Blue." Sunstreaker says. "This place is claustrophobic inducing, and the color is worse than Tracks's paint job." This causes everyone to snicker.

"I missed this." You say, a fanciful expression in your optics. "I remember the last time all four of us were in here for that paint bomb Sideswipe had in the meeting involving the British Consulate."

"That was completely your fault, and Wheeljack was pissed at your borrowing the detonator. I don't think I've ever seen the mech so worried about anything in my life." Bluestreak says, causing everyone to go into an uncomfortable silence.

The silence continues, though you can still hear your bond mates asking if you are okay occasionally. Apparently Magnus saw fit to indulge your mates and took them to Juneau while you get to rot in the cell.

There is more silence until Perceptor flies into the room, like a mech on a mission. It takes a very short amount of time for Perceptor to home in on you, and glare daggers into your optics.

Just by the way the mech is hunched over, you can tell Perceptor is seething. Completely incoherent, Perceptor starts to pace and speak in Cybertronian. You don't know what the mech is saying, but by the look on Bluestreak's face, you can tell it isn't pretty.

"Get up." Perceptor finally says in a language you understand.

You stand up, feeling you should be nervous, but not really caring. You walk toward the bars that keep the two of you separated, glad they are in place.

"I should let you stay in here but I can't work with your bond mates without you." Perceptor says calmly. You realize you've triggered a different kind of mech with your little pleasure cruise.

"You should go back to the mech I fucked." You say, causing every system in the room to stop. "What?" You snap at the four surprised mechs.

"I can't believe you just said that?" Bluestreak whispers to you. You turn to look at Bluestreak, seeing the concern in the mechs optics.

"Relax." You say, turning back toward Perceptor. "Are you taking us out of here?"

"You, yes." Perceptor says, withdrawing from the cell. The bars disappear and you step out, sending a message to your bond mates, who all seem glad you are out of the brig.

After your little, offensive outburst, you wave to your comrades and head out with Perceptor.

GG GG GG GG GG

"_In all honesty, I'm not sure if I should be mad at you or not." Perceptor states to you and your team mates. "I guess we have been a little harsh in keeping you locked up in this lab."_

_In your mind, you had played out how Perceptor was going to go off on you and your team for leaving the compound; and in none of the scenarios was Perceptor so easy going. Sure the mech was absent-minded, but you had gone out and done something you weren't supposed to._

""_Are we with the right mech, because I would be pretty mad if it was me having to keep an eye on us."" Barrage asks the bond._

""_I think someone else is influencing Perceptor. Usually the mech is a little high strung, though not as much as Red Alert."" Missile Master says to the bond. _

"_Thank you Perceptor." You look over to the door and see Rodimus standing in the doorway. Wasn't Rod supposed to be on Earth? "I think you are being gracious with your decision not to lay it on too thick."_

_Perceptor looks over at Rod then back at your group. "I guess I can't fault any of them since I might want to see what they are seeing."_

_Moonrock, deciding to be bold, steps forward. "It's like seeing the world through six pairs of optics at the same time." _

"_I want to do some tests on that at a later, but for now I would appreciate you not leaving unless you have someone to accompany you."_

_You nod and walk over to a berth and crawl up, wishing you were actually crawling into a bed with a mountain of pillows to burrow under. You can hear your bond mates conversing amongst themselves._

_A silent conversation catches you audio. Missile Master is speaking with Perceptor about Wheeljack and what the significance is with the relationship between you and the mech. You only catch what Missile Master is saying, but soon all of you know the whole story of what happened to Wheeljack after you had left._

_How the mech had gone on a survey mission. Come back to so many friends dead at the hands of the Decepticons. How 'Jack had come back to Cybertron to work on Primus knows what. Even the details of 'Jack buying the painting Sunny had made of you almost a decade ago. _

_You cover your portion of the bond and wince slightly at the grimaces each of your bond mates have when you disappear completely form their prying minds. They each look over to make sure you haven't killed yourself. When they know you are okay, they leave you alone with your thoughts._

_The only thought you have is how much trouble you're in if you can't get your infatuation under control. You don't want your bond mates to start to feel like you do, both out of jealousy and out of concern for their well being. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"I'm sorry." You say, though not quite sure which of your bond mates influenced you into saying that to Perceptor, Magnus and Optimus.

All three mechs glare at you. None of them are impressed with your impulsiveness. The idea may have been Bluestreak's, but you have managed to convince all three mech that it was your idea, so you are the only one in the dog house.

"Why?" Prime asks, the soft voice reminding you of the first time the two of you had spoken about toleration. In the back of your mind you know Prime has had more of a problem with you than with any of the other mechs.

"I don't honestly know." You don't feel any remorse at your decision. "I thought I'd let my team mates see my planet before we become Perceptor's freaks."

"You know you aren't freaks." Prime starts.

"Then why did it take all this time for someone to form this kind of plan using the bond. It would take someone with way too much time on their hands to come up with this stuff." You say. "I'm surprised I didn't think of it before myself. Sounds like something I would have jumped at the chance to do before."

Perceptor's gaze falters slightly. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course, I'm willing to do anything for science, just like you are. I just wish I had known about the repercussions. I don't like the idea of my bond mates being pulled into my own little problems." You say.

"I feel as if we are in trouble, not because it's not something that can't happen, but because of the dependency I feel on them right now and they feel on me. I know none of us wants to voice this, especially Heave and myself, but it's like we were born again and now, how will we live without one another?"

Prime looks over at Perceptor, then at Magnus. "Magnus, you will not be necessary for this since you are here on Earth. Perceptor, I want you to make sure you keep an eye on the Astro Squad team members for anything that could be detrimental to individual psyche."

You look up at Prime for a moment. "Astro Squad?"

"Yes. We have been looking at a project Daniel and some classmates did for school involving NASA and came up with three vehicles that you and your primary partners will form and an additional three you and your secondary partners will form." Optimus says.

For a moment your spark skips a pulse. "I get to fly?" You ask, the hopefulness of a child peering through your surly demeanor.

"That will all be decided in a short while, I need to make sure you aren't going to do anything to disrespect my officers or your team mates." Prime says in a warning tone.

You wisely keep your vocalizer mute and don't say a word, hoping the information you are sending out into the bond is reaching your team mates. You look at the three overgrown mechs with excited optics, wishing that Wheeljack had been around to see your changes.

GG GG GG GG GG

**After spending far too long explaining sex in a way someone who has never experienced the process can understand, you decide to press on your predicament. **

"**Is someone going to tell us what we're eventually supposed to do?" You ask Wheeljack, as the mech is the only one in the know still in the room with you. **

**Wheeljack suddenly brightens with the prospect, vocal indicators flashing blue and blue-green. "We've actually been looking at NASA and come up with three primary and three secondary vehicles for you based on vehicles the administration uses." You can tell the mech is clearly excited.**

"**What kinds of vehicles?" You ask warily, your fear bleeding into the bond causing everyone else to feel it too.**

"**There will be a shuttle, a missile carrier and a land rover." **

"**Which of us has to fly?" You hear Moonrock, your fear radiating through the mech's voice.**

"**There will be two of you flying, Blast Master and Phaser will be turning into the forward and aft sections of a human space shuttle."**

**An unseen amount of dread filters through you into the bond, causing everyone to whimper slightly for you. ""Sorry."" You tell your bond mates. **

""**You don't like to be in the air."" Comes a statement from someone.**

""**No."" You look at Wheeljack, who seems to think this is a good idea. "Do I really have to fly?"**

**Blast Master walks forward and embraces you from behind, like your mother used to do when you were growing up. ""We'll be okay.""**

""**I trust you, I don't trust myself, and the fact that everyone is responding to my problems isn't helping anything.""**

"**We'll be okay." Blast Master reiterates for everyone in the room to hear.**

**You look over at your bond mates, who seem to think it's true, everyone will be okay, even if you do have to fly. **

"**What will I get to be?" Moonrock asks, clearly wanting the spotlight to be off of you and your fear of heights.**

"**You and Missile Master will be a transport vehicle. Time to let Missile Master live up to the name the creator bestowed. You two will transport missiles." Wheeljack says to Moonrock, who seems okay with the alternate mode chosen. "Barrage will be the forward section and Heave will be the aft section of a land rover."**

"**That fits you Heave, you can definitely be an aft sometimes." Barrage snickers in a playful tone. **

**You realize had the six of you not been bonded, Heave would have taken it out of context, but as it is, Heave just laughs and agrees.**

"**What are we going to be called? That group that attacked my hospital was the Military Squad." You look over at Wheeljack again, while talking through the bond to your bond mates.**

"**Erector wants to call you the Astro Squad, any complaints?" Wheeljack looks at you, specifically, when asking this question. You shake your head, as no one else seems to mind your new name.**

8


	11. Alternates

Alternates

"_The Astro Squad?" You ask indignantly. "Who came up with something as ridiculous as that?"_

_Perceptor looks at you for a moment before continuing the monologue you have just interrupted. "It has been decided that the six of you will be six different vehicles, but you will combine with either your primary or secondary partner, so two of you will be needed for any vehicle to work." _

_Perceptor starts to pace back and forth in front of you. All six of you are standing at attention; Erector is off to the side._

"_Now it has been decided you will be based off of Earth based vehicles, so…"_

""_Great, so two of us are going to look like the Challenger."" You say dryly, remembering watching the shuttle explode in the sky._

"_You can't explode!" Barrage shouts, causing Perceptor to cease that ridiculous rambling._

"_Who is going to explode?" Perceptor asks curiously._

"_No one is going to explode. I had a memory of a shuttle exploding and didn't send all the information into the bond." You say, giving Barrage a reassuring nudge._

"_I guess you and Blast Master have volunteered for the shuttle." Erector says, since both Barrage and Moonrock look slightly shaken at the thought of anyone exploding._

""_Sorry."" You say to Blast Master._

""_Don't worry about it kid, I've always liked flying.""_

"_When will we get our alternate mode?" Missile Master asks the first intelligent question in this conversation. _

"_That will actually be as soon as we get you the transformation software. We need to upload the software into your system. You already have the capability, but you need to have a program to run the capability." Perceptor has jumped into excitement like a child jumps into a pool. _

_The mech walks over to the console on the far wall and pulls out a cord or some sort. "This will be plugged into your head, and you will be receiving the information. We would do this using the radio technology, but this will be faster…so who is first?" Perceptor is clearly way too excited and reminds you of Dr. Frankenstein. _

_Missile Master walks forward and the rest of you watch as the mech is attached to the wire. There is a slight jolt as the information feed is started, but all in all, the process takes a few minutes and the mech is finished._

_Missile Master turns and looks up at Perceptor expecting there to be more. "That's it?"_

"_You are finished. As soon as everyone else is done, I'll get a specialist in here to help you learn how to scan and form your alternate modes." Perceptor nods and waits for someone else to volunteer. _

_Blast Master follows then you and Heave. Finally the two young ones in the group go and every single one of you has completed the process. Total elapsed time is less than twenty Earth minutes. _

""_Is anyone else as bored as I am right now?"" Heave complains to you._

""_I'm sure we won't be here much longer."" You say to the rest of your bond mates. You glance over at Perceptor, who is speaking to someone you don't recognize. The mech walks toward you and your team after a brief moment._

"_Hello Astro Squad, I am Goldbug and I'll be assisting you with the transformation processes." The mech says, almost causing you to cough, if you had still retained that ability._

""_I know that voice."" You say into the bond. ""A mech I had met named Bumblebee sounds just like that."" You say, remembering how the voice reminded you of the character Cooler off the Pound Puppies cartoon show._

"_Who's Bumblebee?" Barrage ask out._

"_Someone I met a while ago. Told me all about Cybertronian love compared to human love." You say, ignoring everyone who isn't bonded to you. "I remember thinking about the conversation while I was saying 'I do' during my own wedding and how I was doing exactly opposite what I had learned that day. If I had listened to my conscious, Kelsey never would have gotten hurt and I would have kept from conforming." _

_At this point your sour attitude has slowly leaked through the bond and everyone immediately tries to reject the emotions. You shut your optics and think of something else, like your children and the sourness is evaporated and all is right with the bond. You open your optics and see Goldbug looking at you. _

"_Sorry, I get kind of emotional at times. Did you know Bumblebee? I forget if Bumblebee was off-lined while I was gone." Goldbug doesn't move. _

"_You got married?" Goldbug asks. "You got married and you didn't love the person… then you turned into a Cybertronian?"_

"_How did you know I did that?" You ask, looking at Perceptor, then asking Perceptor with the internal comm. unit if this mech knows about the bond. Perceptor tells you not to say anything because Bumblebee wouldn't be too fond of the process. You look at the mech, asking if Goldbug used to be Bumblebee._

"_Bumblebee?" You ask quietly._

"_Did you see Wheeljack?" Goldbug asks. _

"_I have to ask… how is it that everyone thinks Wheeljack and I had something going on? We were friends, nothing more, nothing less." You look at your bond mates, advising them to keep your actual emotions away from prying audios. _

"_I personally expected you to come back, and 'Jack was excited to think there was someone who would help the mech out."_

"_You are Bumblebee, aren't you?" You ask, completely ignoring any mention of Wheeljack, better to put the mech out of your mind. Maybe Perceptor can erase the memory._

"_This body houses the spark that was once called Bumblebee." Goldbug answers you._

"_Why'd you change your name, or your body, for that matter?" You ask, telling everyone in the bond about your trip with Bumblebee and the learning not to refer to the Cybertronians as their alternate modes._

"_You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but Ratchet had to rebuild me and I wanted a name that commanded more respect."_

_You stifle a laugh wondering how Goldbug can command more respect than Bumblebee. "I liked your name. I had a friend in school we used to call Bee since that's what her name meant in Greek."_

"_I want to talk to you later about this decision you made, but for now, we need to work on your alternate modes." Goldbug says, turning on a three-dimensional hologram of the three vehicles you will soon be part of. _

**GG GG GG GG GG**

"**I don't want to fly." You softly tell Blast Master, as the one called Goldbug shows you the three dimensional picture of your soon to be alternate mode.**

"**Kid, I promise nothing will happen to you. That's why you have an older Cybertronian with you and not one of the other kids." Blast Master whispers into your audio.**

"**I was wondering about that, why those of us who are younger are the front of the vessel and the older are in the back. I guess it makes sense." You say, watching Goldbug help Heave and Barrage scan their respective images and change into their alternate mode. **

"**I want to know about the mass displacement." Moonrock pipes in, watching your two mates change size and shape on a whim. **

"**Ask Perceptor at a later time." Goldbug says to the eager bot. Goldbug walks around the land rover and nods. "This is good. Can the two of you move together?" You watch and feel your bond mates move forward, much too both their delight.**

**You can feel both Heave and Barrage are entranced at the feeling, both at having their very first alternate modes and moving in sync. The excitement radiates through you as you all wait for your turn.**

"**Transform!" Goldbug commands. **

**Your mates halt their forward movement and both rise slightly off the ground, transforming, and land on their two feet, grins plastered on both faces.**

"**That was intense." Heave says, pulling Barrage over into a headlock and pretending to give the poor mech a noogie. There is a silent thank you sent over the bond for the idea.**

**You watch as Moonrock and Missile Master are guided through the same process. Moonrock is slightly more apprehensive when finding out there will be a live missile in Missile Master's subspace pocket that will be drawn to the magnetic field emitted when the two of them merged into one transport vehicle. **

**After a little bit of coaxing and promising the two can have a red color as their primary color instead of gray, Moonrock allows the transformation to occur and the two become the transport vehicle. Moonrock slowly creeps forward and Missile Master lets the youth guide the way. **

**For a few more minutes, Goldbug lets them continue moving; then shouts for the two to transform. With a little more hesitancy, the two transform and the missile ends up back in the subspace pocket, without a hitch.**

"**It didn't go off!" Moonrock says excitedly, after realizing the missile is safe and no one was killed.**

"**I think we're going to have to go outside for ours." Blast Master says, while the two of you scan your respective alternate forms. You watch as the living skin on your arm starts to transform into a harder substance, like a turtle shell made of metal.**

**The color white becomes prominent and you run your finger over the slight cone shape above your head. You look at your partner, who has grown slightly taller and now also has burners instead of feet.**

"**You both look like half a seeker." Moonrock giggles.**

"**I'd like to see a seeker try to take us on." Blast Master retorts.**

"**If you two start following those twins in their Jet Judo nonsense, then I'll personally use you for spare parts." Perceptor warns.**

"**You trying to take over for Ratchet Percy?" Goldbug asks.**

"**No, I just refuse to let my creations do something stupid while they're in my care."**

"**You sound like the medic after waking up from an energon induced hangover." Goldbug laughs and you put out a general query to the bond about the medic they are talking about.**

**You find out the medic barely survived a scrape with the Decepticons a few years back and had decided to go into hermit status. Mechs rarely saw Ratchet unless Ratchet wanted to be seen. Apparently Wheeljack knows where to find the mech in case of an emergency. **

"**Are we going to go flying?" You ask, a little apprehensive. **

"**I told you I'd take care of you." Blast Master says into your audio again.**

"**I know, but I can still be worried. It's in human nature." You say, walking outside into the courtyard with your strange troupe. **

"**You're not human anymore." Wheeljack pipes in; you didn't even realize the mech was there. That has actually been happening a lot lately, you realize. No one really exists outside the bond anymore.**

"**I know, but I can still retain my individuality, however much is actually missing." You say, glancing up at the mech.**

""**Has anyone else been having issues with knowing if someone else is in the room that isn't us?"" You ask into the bond.**

""**I've noticed that too, we might want to bring that up to Perceptor."" Missile Master answers the question. **

""**It's almost like it's us and then there's them, but them don't matter. Almost like we've reverted to the ID."" You say, half listening to Wheeljack's banter about how to keep yourself flying and no, that thinking happy thoughts doesn't work and there are no such things as fairies. **

""**What's a fairy?"" Blast Master asks. You send a response and a mental image of watching Mary Martin plead with the audience to clap to save Tinker Bell from the poison. **

""**Did you clap?"" Barrage asks hopefully.**

""**Until I realized it was a television show and Tinker Bell would live whether I clapped or not."" You say.**

"**Are you two paying attention?" The question snaps you back to reality, once again confirming your lack of attention to anyone outside of your bond, your world.**

"**Sorry, what were you saying?" You ask, a little shocked to find yourself in the center of the yard instead of at the door to the building. ""How long were we in bond land?""**

"**We need you and Blast Master to merge and try flying, not too high, but a few feet off the ground." Wheeljack says, though you can tell there is hesitation in the answer. Wheeljack looks at you curiously. "Are you going to be okay?"**

"**I'll be fine. I have my bond mate with me." You say, clapping Blast Master on the back and walking away from the group. **

""**Ready for this?"" Blast Master asks.**

""**Ready as I'll ever be."" You answer.**

**The two of you, acting as one entity, start to think about transforming. You feel yourself start to move and for a moment, it feels like you are turning into a liquid from a solid state. It almost feels like you are suspended in the water and covered from head to toe with warm liquid pushing against you from all angles. **

**Your optics stop feeding your CPU energy and you start to 'see' via the sensors, so you no longer see as you used to. It takes a few moments before you feel yourself attach to Blast Master and within moments there is a hard line connection and your bond connection.**

""**You okay up there kid?"" You hear the mech ask you.**

""**I don't know. I feel like I'm swimming."" You say, trying to gather enough data to see where you are located.**

""**Try this."" Blast Master sends you a pulsation of information along the hard connection and you look for the same information in your CPU. Moments later, you are able to see as if you still have your optics in an area you can actually see from.**

**You notice you are about ten feet from the ground and the sinking feeling comes into your non-existent stomach. You close off the visual input and take a moment to yourself before opening your eyes again.**

""**Should we scare the slag out of 'em?"" You ask your primary partner.**

""**How so?""**

""**Let's leave the planet."" You say, trying to act braver than you feel. **

""**You sure, I think they want us to come back down.""**

""**No, but I want to see if I can look fear in the eye and laugh."" You say without any conviction.**

**Blast Master starts to push the two of you up and you can hear your bond mates asking what the pit you two are up to. You can vaguely hear Wheeljack command you to return immediately.**

""**Can I try to pull us, or is it your job to push like the shuttles on Earth?"" You ask. **

""**I think it's just me who can move us, you're the eyes, so everything I see is what you are sending me."" Blast Master says. You vaguely notice there is someone next to you, and you turn, so to speak, and see Wheeljack waving like a lunatic.**

""**Can we speak to others?"" You ask, not sure if you are moving too fast to speak over the comm. links. **

""**You can speak to me, what's going on?"" You hear Heave ask, though you can tell there is a hint of respect since you are getting visual pictures of Perceptor and Erector throwing a fit over your little joy ride.**

""**I just wanted to fly. Tell Perceptor it's my fault."" You say to your bond mates. You look back over at Wheeljack and the mech, who usually stands almost fifteen feet taller than you, looks so small now.**

""**Think we should go back down."" This is more of a suggestion than a question from Blast Master. **

""**Yeah, I think we've thrilled everyone for the day. You know, this transforming and merging stuff is a lot easier than I thought it would be.""**

GG GG GG GG GG

"You do realize pulling a stunt like that can be detrimental to a mission, right?" Optimus asks when you and your comrade finally set down on the planet surface.

"Probably good I get it out of my system now then, don't you think?" You ask cheekily.

"You have spent too much time with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, the latter more so." Prime looks at you with a serious expression. You still marvel at how the Cybertronians are able to convey such emotions with only eyes, especially if they don't have an actual mouth.

"I came back, didn't I?" You snap, causing you bond mates to ping you with numerous reasons as to why you should have more respect for the Prime than you are giving.

"Thank you." This response floors you. You weren't expecting Optimus to be as gracious with your little trip, but the mech seems to think you needed to get that out of your system. At least that's what the private communication that was sent to you implied.

"You're welcome?"

"Good, now I want all of you to come with me to my office. I have to get you registered as part of the militia forces and assign you to a commander." Optimus says, clapping hands like some military leader.

"I wasn't aware we were going to be militia." You say, glancing at your bond mates, who also seem a little skeptical at this news.

"I am calling you to active duty as front runners in the event of a Decepticon attack." Prime says like that was the intention.

"Wait a minute, I wasn't made aware of that. How come this information wasn't disclosed?" You demand, anger seeping through to the point where you wrench yourself from the bond.

Blast Master looks at you curiously for a moment. "That's the reason most Micromasters were created Phaser, to be front runners in the war and save materials."

"How come I didn't get that from the bond then?" You ask your mate softly, anger being replaced by slight betrayal.

"I'm sure you did, but keep in mind, we're all still trying to sift through all the information we received during the bonding process. There's a lot of information. You didn't know that all of us were created to be front runners, starting with the first drones?"

"Are you forgetting I was human just a few Earth years ago? I didn't grow up knowing things that may be common knowledge for Cybertronians, just like you may now know that humans need air to breathe." At this point you have not only blocked the bond, you are slowly stepping backwards, away from your bond mates and the team who knew about your group.

"I feel very alone right now." You say, for the first time since being bonded, you are reminded that you are a human and should have remained a human.

There is no one behind you, so you decide to walk off in the opposite direction of the Science Center. Within moments you feel someone standing behind you and you can tell from the bond that it's none of your bond mates, they had been told to stay put. Optimus is standing behind you.

You look over to the side and see there is a hand lowered for you to hop on. Like a wounded child, you hop up and put your knees to your chest and place your face in the gap. You can hear some fleeting comments about Optimus favoring you over the rest of the team, which you put to rest rather quickly by reopening the bond so your mates know what you are doing.

You send what Optimus tells you to your mates just a fraction of a second after the leader of the Autobots tells you.

"I know you feel as if everything is completely against you, and it does seem that it is at times. One of the things I told you when you were transferred over and the one thing that actually made Wheeljack second think the decision was that you would just be a Micromaster. We were not going to give you the body of a full sized Cybertronian for multiple reasons."

"You may not remember being told this because of the memory loss, but you were told before the Traalian water was used, that Micromasters were the front runners, not unlike Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. At the time they were completely expendable, but that was because at the beginning they were drones."

"You can change that thinking Optimus." You say to the leader, still looking out toward the stars in the distance. The stars Sunstreaker had painted you pointing to, even though you hadn't laid eyes on them at the time.

"That thinking has changed, but the fact is, most that join the Micromasters do so knowing they will be sent into battle first and they are okay with that." Optimus's voice is still soft and way too soothing for this type of conversation. Then the mech tells you something that you keep to yourself. "I would have thought you would jump at the chance because I know you want to die."

You look over at the leader, optics bright with surprise. "You think I want to die?"

"I don't think you want to die, I know you want to die."

GG GG GG GG GG

"_I should be insanely pissed that I get to go out and put my life on the line for a bunch of beings I know very little about, but for some reason, I really don't care." You say, walking with your team back to the Science Center._

"_Can you two take us for a ride sometime? I want to see what you saw." Moonrock asks, grabbing your hand like your daughter used to do before you were kicked out of her life._

_You glance back at Blast Master, who nods, indicating approval. "Any time you want, I'll open myself up for all of my bond mates." You say, leaning your head on Moonrock's shoulder. _

"_I had no idea the alternate mode process was so tiring. I feel like recharging for the next few stellar rotations." Missile Master says. _

_You look behind you and see the leaders of project Astro Squad walking behind you and conversing. You assume they will be taking you to your new rooms, but you doubt it will matter much since all of you will probably dog pile yourself onto the nearest berth and pass out._

""_I like that idea."" Barrage says to you and all of you agree that the closeness is something that is affecting your judgment, but it's like narcotics, completely addicting and fast acting._

""_Did anyone tell us how long this dependency feeling will be prevalent?"" Blast Master asks, bringing up the rear of your group._

""_I don't know."" "Perceptor!" You shout at the top of your vocalizer._

_You can hear the clang of Perceptor's feet hitting the solid ground as the mech speeds up and walks in step with you. "Is anything the matter?"_

"_When will we be six again instead of one?" You ask, not sure even you understand the question._

"_The bonding dependency should ease up within a couple of Earth days more. It'll be slightly longer than a typical bonding because there are five of you. I wouldn't worry about it, unless one of you starts to get homicidal feelings and wants to offline everyone in their berths."_

_You hear Heave snicker behind you and a quick reprimand from Blast Master, telling the mech, that isn't funny._

"_Has anything like that occurred?" Perceptor asks with a hint of worry._

"_We're brand new sparklings; I don't think we have a homicidal thought in your CPUs yet." Missile Master answers the question._

"_I guess you're right on that part." Erector chimes in from the other side of your group. "Now, do you want to be in the same room tonight, or would you like us to move you to your permanent quarters?"_

_As a single voice you say, "We want to stay together."_

**GG GG GG GG GG **

"**I don't know, this set of rooms is so big." Moonrock says in awe of the size of your quarters. Perceptor stands in the doorway while Wheeljack helps move berths around to your liking.**

**Missile Master stands next to the room you and Blast Master are to share, looking at how big the berths are. ""We could always stay on the same berth, we don't have to split ourselves up.""**

**By now you are so used to hearing voices in your heads, you don't care, but you do wonder if the 'others' know how often there is unspoken conversation between the six of you.**

""**I don't think they know Phaser, I think they expect it though."" Heave says, looking at the tall mech moving the berth closer to the window.**

"'**Jack, can you move the two berths together?" Blast Master asks softly. Wheeljack looks at each of you in turn and each of you nod, indicating that no matter how many berths you have, you will all end up in one, so might as well have two pushed together.**

**Wheeljack moves the other berth in yours and Blast Master's room, shoving it against the first one, creating a square. "I'll see about having a bigger berth moved in, one you can all share."**

**You walk over to the berth and climb in, intent on sleeping for the next three years. You glance one more time at the colorful mech and then curl up into a ball, ready to sleep for the remainder of time. **

**You vaguely hear the door to your quarters shut, and a few of you saying good-bye to your keepers. Then each of you start to filter into the room and onto the berth where you are currently sleeping.**

""**The fact that I can still hear you when I am completely in recharge is, quite frankly, the freakiest thing I have ever experienced."" You say to your bond mates. **

12


	12. Me Again

Me Again

You sit and stare out the window of your new quarters, enjoying the view of the twin suns dancing in the sky. With your optics, you don't worry about getting cataracts; you enjoy the bright gasses exploding on the suns' surface.

You can hear your bond mates stirring in their recharge and you can occasionally catch a flash of a dream, but you notice you don't feel what they feel anymore. Yesterday, if Barrage had a nightmare, you all would have felt the fear. Today, when you see the vision of Heave's creator disappearing, you don't feel scared, though you can tell by the mech's body language, Heave isn't too calm.

You have the words of Optimus Prime running through your CPU, do you really want to die. You think back to when Carly had told you Wheeljack had died. At the time, death was a welcome commodity, but one that you weren't offered. Instead you had been offered a luxury stay in the brig, with the twins sneaking down to banter with you during their down time.

After you ran off, death didn't seem too important anymore, nothing was.

You hear someone stir and look over to see Missile Master looking at you with bright optics. ""You seem agitated young one, but I do not feel your agitation overtaking me. Am I to assume we are ourselves again and not each other?""

""I think so, I still feel you in there, but I think all of my energy has managed to make it back to my spark. I think we could now sleep by ourselves instead of with each other.""

""I agree."" Heave says, sitting up and looking at the two of you. There is a hint of distain, that startles you and Missile Master, but Heave brushes it off. ""Relax, that was bound to come back and I no longer think of you as below me. Next to me, yes, but you are no longer an untouchable.""

You laugh slightly. ""You've been spending too much time reading through my data banks on Earth culture, or you've been reading about Earth culture for a lot longer than you've let on.""

""Trust me, this is all you. I'd not have cared one iota for an Earth creature if you hadn't shown up.""

This causes you and Missile Master to stare for a moment at the disgruntled mech. Had Heave just admitted to caring for someone that wasn't always a Cybertronian?

""Don't read into that too much, I can hear your thoughts."" Heave sneers, though a lot less than normal. ""I do that only out of normal feelings you attain for one you have been bonded to.""

You and Missile Master look at each other and laugh. Heave soon joins in. It doesn't take much to wake up the remainder of your bond mates, or at least their inner voices, as the contagious laughter causes everyone to laugh.

""What are we laughing about?"" Moonrock giggles inside, though the young mech looks barely awake.

""Heave being a sentimental bully."" You say, earning a glare that could wither a flower.

""I think we're rubbing off on ya."" Missile Master tells the younger mech.

""Whatever."" Heave waves the group off outwardly, but inwardly, you and your mates can tell the mech is happy to be part of this.

_GG GG GG GG GG_

""_Phaser's not dead, leave the mech alone."" You hear Blast Master tell someone, though you can't quite tell who since both Barrage and Moonrock seem to be worried about you._

""_Relax kids."" You say to them, refusing to wake up completely. ""I think we've gotten all of that energy I learned about while I was part of Primus back, so we won't be influencing each other anymore.""_

""_Is that why we can feel you, but we feel like ourselves again?"" Barrage asks._

""_Yes."" Heave says in short response._

""_I guess I don't understand what happened. Why did we influence each other so much and now why are we back to, well, ourselves again?"" Moonrock asks._

_Heave, being the smartest of your group answers. ""The reason we influenced each other so much was the energies that make up ourselves, was trapped within each other's sparks. We each had our own original spark, but energies from the other five were coursing through the genetic makeup. It's been long enough, that our specific energy signatures have found their way back to where they belong.""_

"_That made no sense at all." You say, admitting defeat and waking up._

"_Well if you're so smart human, why don't you explain it?" Heave snaps at you as you open your optics._

"_Why does it need to be explained?" You ask. "There are just some things you can't explain; this should be one of them." You say, jumping off the berth. "I doubt Perceptor could give an answer that other's would understand."_

"_You don't want to learn about what's happening to us?" Barrage asks, shocked._

"_I'm sure I would enjoy learning about everything, down to the tiniest detail, about what is happening to us, but I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that only a couple of weeks ago, I was a human, living on Earth." You say. "As I was coming around I thought maybe this had all been a dream and it scared me."_

"_What scared you?" Missile Master asks, putting an arm around your shoulder._

"_I might be alone again." ""My life wasn't anything special to begin with, but being alone again is not something I want."" You look toward the door and see that it is closed, but you know someone is waiting somewhere on the other side. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"**God Jess, how long have I been out?" You ask one of the nurses on your staff.**

"**Who is Jess?" You hear someone ask, causing you to sit up immediately.**

"**It wasn't…I mean?" You look at yourself and realize you are still** **blue, red and white. "It wasn't a dream?" You look over at all five of your bond mates, who are looking at you like you've turned into Cerberus.**

"**What was a dream?" Heave asks, not quite showing concern, but clearly as confused as everyone else.**

"**I…I didn't feel you in here." You point to your head, though you know your mind is housed in your spark. "I thought I had dreamt it all."**

"**Would have been one pit of a dream." Missile Master laughs, sending warm fuzzies your way, proving to you everyone is still there.**

"**We've just made it back into ourselves, so we won't be influencing each other anymore." Heave says.**

"**Probably a good thing." You say, jumping off the berth. You hear a chime and look at your mates quizzically. **

""**Relax, someone's at the door."" Blast Master says, exiting the room to answer. **

**You and your remaining mates filter into the room to see Perceptor and Wheeljack enter the abode. **

"**Glad to see you're all up and about. I want to take you to the Science Center and do some tests on you lack of inhibitions and how much you influence each other." Perceptor says in a merry tone. **

"**No can do Percy." Heave says, earning a glare from Perceptor. "We're back where we belong. We can still hear each other when we want to, but no one has the influence over the next like we used to."**

"**Frag." Perceptor says, causing everyone in the room to laugh.**

"**I don't think I've heard you say a single profane word in your life Perceptor." Wheeljack snickers, clapping the scientist on the back.**

**Perceptor stalls for a moment, "What did I say?" Perceptor starts repeating the conversation from the time the two of them entered the room, gets to the word and stops. "I'm completely mortified." Perceptor states, like it was a big deal, causing everyone to laugh again.**

"**No, I mean it. I hope I didn't offend anyone." Perceptor glances at you and your bond mates, as you try to control the giggling. **

"**I think they are used to your absent mindedness already Perceptor. I don't think they care." Wheeljack is still having a hard time keeping in check; vocal indicators are a solid blue.**

**Perceptor glares at Wheeljack, causing the mech to laugh even harder. "I fail to see how my cursing is so amusing." Perceptor turns back to everyone else. "Well, that basically makes today a free day. I suggest you use it to your advantage, because starting tomorrow is when you will learn to combine while in motion and from there it's just going to get harder."**

**You and your team groan like a kid who has just found out about a pop quiz. Then you hear each of your bond mates telling everyone else where they are going to go. Blast Master wants to head to the training area while Missile Master wants to see a couple of friends. Moonrock and Barrage have decided to follow Heave's example and go to a popular meeting place.**

**You watch your bond mates leave, feeling slightly down as you realize, aside from the bond, you have nothing in common with any of them. They are like family, but family you would only see on holidays, now that you are yourself again.**

"**You're not following the crowd?" Wheeljack asks at the same time each of your bond mates offer you the option to accompany them wherever they are going. **

"**I've never been into following people into places I am not comfortable with, which unfortunately is everywhere. Especially being on a new planet." You say, walking to what you assume is a sofa, and hopping on.**

"**I'm heading into Iacon to pick up some stuff from my old lab, would you like to come?" Wheeljack asks.**

**You seem to ponder the question. Do you sit on your aft all day doing nothing, or do you go explore? "Lead the way." You say, jumping up and off the sofa.**

GG GG GG GG GG

"I see they let you out of the brig Blue." You say from atop your perch of ruins.

Bluestreak continues trying to climb the rubble pile you have become majesty over, without causing the precariously set structure to collapse. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find you when you decide to run off and hide in this mess of metal? What are you doing out here…I mean…I've never seen such desolation in this portion of my life and I don't like to because it reminds me of memories I want to forget, and here you are, sitting up here like you own the place." Bluestreak straightens up and looks at you.

For a moment you are stunned, then you start to laugh. "What's so funny?" Bluestreak asks, clearly confused.

"For a moment there, I was looking at the mech I first met, rambling and all." You say, still laughing.

Bluestreak's head cocks to one side. "Have I really changed that much?"

"No Blue, but you put on a good front." You say, indicating a pile of metal Bluestreak can sit on.

Blue takes the offer and sits, then starts talking again. "I've got to ask; what's it like being bonded, I mean I know 'Jack wanted to bond with you before you left, but you never did."

"Honestly, I have no emotional attachment to them anymore. For a while it was as if they were me and I couldn't live without them. Now…I miss them, but I would honestly rather live on my own." You look over at your friend and smile.

"You feel absolutely nothing for them?" Bluestreak looks shocked at your admission.

"I think of them as comrades, maybe friends, but I don't love them and I had this fantasy built up of what it would have been like to be bonded with someone I loved. This isn't it." You stare up at the sky, catching one of the moons out of the corner of your optic.

"I like the colors you chose; all of you are a mixture of blue, gray, red and white, right?" You can tell Bluestreak is trying to change the subject, probably worried you'll go nuclear on that shiny gray aft.

"Yeah, not sure who chose those colors. I like purple and green myself. Though the gray isn't to too bad. Reminds me of a certain gunner I used to spend time with." You say, glancing mischievously over at your friend. "You ever meet a mech named Bluestreak?"

"If I were a human, my eyes would have rolled so far back in my head all you'd see is the white." Bluestreak snickers.

"You're too high strung for white eyes; you'd have too many red veins showing."

Bluestreak gets right into your face. "Are you calling me a Decepticon you has been fleshy?"

Had this been anyone other than Blue, you might be a little worried, but it is Blue after all. "Maybe I am." You jump up, pointing your finger into the space between Bluestreak's eyes. "Maybe you're a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Bluestreak, playfully, tries to swat at you, but you surprise the mech by hovering a few feet away. "I had no idea you could do that." Bluestreak says in a wondering tone.

"I'm a flyer now, though I don't know if this was something I was supposed to find out about yet. I only discovered I could hover when I slipped trying to get up here." You float back down and Bluestreak snatches you out of the air. "What's with this?" You laugh, pointing to Bluestreak's hand wrapped around your abdomen.

Bluestreak looks at you seriously for a moment before answering. "I'm not letting you go this time."

This causes you to sigh, or at least the vocal inflections of a sigh, as Cybertronians don't actually sigh. "You and those idiot twins are the best friends I have right now, probably the best friends I've had in my entire existence."

"So, you're not going to leave again? You're going to stay here with the three of us?" The hopeful look on Bluestreak's face makes you want to hug the mech.

"I don't know how this…this bonding thing is going to work, but I'm not going anywhere for a while. I promise." Bluestreak puts you down, back on your perch, and the two of you are silent for a few minutes. "You know something Blue?"

"What?"

"In another reality, we would have been perfect for each other."

There are a few more moments of silence. "You know something Phaser?"

"What?"

"I already knew that."

_GG GG GG GG GG_

_The door in front of you looks rather foreboding and you wonder if it's such a good idea to go inside. After a brief period of silently berating yourself, you enter the code into the lock pad and watch the door open slowly. _

_You step through the door and it closes, and locks, immediately behind you. You step forward into the room and glance around, re-familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. Bluestreak is over on the berth, rocking back and forth again, but this time while looking at you. _

"_Bluestreak?" You ask, hoping the mech will recognize your vocal inflections. The mech seems to and stops the rocking for a moment and stares at you. You can see the curiosity, but you stand back. Kup isn't here to watch your back this time._

"_Why?" Bluestreak chokes on the word and starts to rock again, this time faster. "Why did you do that to yourself?" Bluestreak continues rocking and starts to slam into the wall. _

"_Please don't hurt yourself Bluestreak." You say. If you were a human you'd be on the verge of tears right now._

"_The physical pain blocks the mental pain. The physical pain blocks the mental pain." Bluestreak continues chanting this as you slowly make your way over to the berth. Swiftly, you jump up, and sit on the edge, as far from Bluestreak as possible._

"_Why do you want to cause physical pain?" You ask softly._

"_The physical pain blocks the mental pain." You can see the anguish in Blue's optics as they change color from the soft, kind blue they used to be, to a deep shade of gray, then to black. _

_Bluestreak looks up toward the ceiling and starts bashing into the wall, causing dents and scrapes on both the head and the wall. _

"_Stop Bluestreak!" You shout, jumping up and putting your hand behind Bluestreak's head. This backfires and your hand gets smashed into the wall, splintering open and showing you the circuitry inside. "Please stop Bluestreak." You cry, watching your hand start to send off electric sparks._

_Bluestreak grabs onto you and crushes you into a giant hug. This causes the crashing to stop, but Bluestreak continues to chant. _

_After a few minutes of the chanting and the crushing, you start to flail slightly. "Bluestreak, you gotta let me go. I promise not to go anywhere again." You say, surprised you still sound the same._

_Bluestreak continues chanting and stands up to start pacing the room. Then, for no apparent reason, stops._

"_The physical pain…it blocks the mental pain." Bluestreak looks at you for a moment, then leans in and kisses you, or at least what you assume is a kiss, on the head, before dropping you and walking back over to the berth._

_You land in a pile on the floor and watch as the mech climbs into bed and looks at an arm. You get a horrible feeling in your spark as you watch the eyes change from black to red within moments. _

_Then Bluestreak grabs the left arm with the right hand and starts to dig through the skin on the forearm. You watch, petrified, as Bluestreak starts to peal the skin back and show the circuitry underneath. _

"_Blue, what are you doing?" You shout, shorting out your vocal processor in the process. _

_Bluestreak ignores you and slips a finger into the arm, exposing a wire. You watch in horror as the mech attacks the wire using the metal from its mouth. The wire ends up cut clean through and Bluestreak goes for another one, this time screaming like a wounded animal at the same time._

_You jump up and pound on the door, hoping to get someone's attention. You cringe as Bluestreak squeals again and you can hear sparks of electricity hitting metal by the berth. You cover your optics with your good hand as you are shoved out of the way by whoever has answered your plea. _

_It doesn't take long for silence to envelope you. You look up to see someone pointing to your hand, but you can no longer hear anything. You turn slowly to see others enter the room and attack Bluestreak. _

_You shout out to leave the mech alone, but only in your head; no one can hear you when you cry in your head. You feel yourself being pulled away from the room, but not before you get the chance to hold Bluestreak's primal gaze for a moment._

_You watch as the door shuts, separating you and your friend, yet again._

**GG GG GG GG GG **

"**I am surprised to be able to tell you this place is worse than your other lab." You say, glancing around at your surroundings.**

"**I'm not allowed back in the city for extended periods of time, so the fact that it's in this good of shape is something to be proud of." Wheeljack chuckles while packing various materials and apparatuses into a storage unit for travel. **

"**As I said before, I'm not much better, at least I don't think I am." You say, picking up various pieces Wheeljack is pointing to and bringing them to the subspace unit. "When do I get one of these space pockets?" You ask, climbing inside and completely disappearing from reality. **

**You backpedal quickly and fall out and onto your aft. "That was wicked." You say, making a move to go back. "Feels like being on Oxycodone."**

**Wheeljack grabs your wrist and hauls you away from the pocket. "I don't want you going in there again, especially if it makes you feel like you're on human pain medication." **

**You stare longingly at the pocket for a moment before mentally kicking yourself. You've treated enough people on narcotics to know better. "Why in the name of Primus's balls does the subspace pocket act like a mind altering drug?"**

**Wheeljack looks at you for a moment then bursts into laughter. "I didn't know Primus has balls." Wheeljack's vocal indicators flash in amusement.**

"**Sorry…" You look at the ground for a moment. "You know what I mean."**

"**Your genetic makeup belongs here, not in there. We can put non-living materials in the pocket, because they aren't alive; they don't feel. Living beings don't belong in subspace."**

"**I wouldn't think anything from here belongs in subspace, but I don't see your ray gun, or whatever it is you carry, complaining." You say, handing more materials over.**

**Wheeljack laughs again. "I actually carry cannons, not ray guns."**

"**I'm sure I know about as much about weaponry as you do about the human endocrine system, so we should both worry about what we know best." You say, handing the last piece to Wheeljack, who subspaces it.**

"**I'll make you a deal. You teach me what you know and I'll teach you what I know. I may be an inventor, but I enjoy learning about subjects that aren't in my programming."**

**You ponder the request for a minute, making a theatrical production of it and once again causing Wheeljack to laugh.**

"**Think you can keep up with me Autobot?" You challenge. **

"**Think you can keep up with me?"**

**You stare seriously for a second, then a large grin plasters itself on your face. "You've got yourself a deal." You hold out your hand and Wheeljack shakes, sealing the deal. **

10


	13. Flying

Flying

"_You do realize," Perceptor says, glaring at you. "Letting yourself get killed this early in the bond could take all of your partners with you."_

"_I didn't intend to have Bluestreak kill me, it was an accident." You say with a sour tone. _

"_You didn't once stop and think about the last time you went to see Bluestreak, what happened to you before?" Perceptor looks down at your mangled hand and starts to rebuild the circuitry. "Now you and Blast Master won't be able to meet up with Jetfire for your lesson in space flight on time."_

"_I think I liked you better when we were just friends or I was teaching you and I wasn't your little pet project." You snap, pulling your hand away. "Maybe you should just leave it like that if you're going to act like it's the end of the world."_

_You can hear Blast Master laughing within the bond. As your other mates are out learning how to maneuver in alternate form, you and Blast Master are listening to Perceptor rant._

""_You should lay off the mech. They've been working on this project for months, in human terms."" Blast Master tells you._

""_When I completely lose my humanity, then we can talk, but acting like this is the worst thing, in the world, no the universe, to happen is ridiculous."" You sneer, then you quickly recoil, remembering you are speaking to your mate, not an overzealous Autobot._

"_You want to explain to me again why the hospital insisted on keeping you?" Perceptor sighs. The mech holds out a hand and you extend your hand in return._

"_They wanted to know how I knew Bluestreak and what I did to cause this sudden interest in suicide." You say softly. You can feel the mental pain in your head and you wince when it is accidentally sent to Blast Master. ""Sorry.""_

""_Not your fault. Are you okay?"" Blast Master asks._

"_Are you okay?" Perceptor asks._

"_Fine." You answer both of them at once._

"_It's hard to see your friends become something they're not. You should have seen Wheeljack after you left and didn't respond to the e-mail you were sent. 'Jack always did a good job of masking emotions. We all did." Perceptor says._

_You look at your hand, too embarrassed to look into Perceptor's optics. "I'm sorry for everything. If I had known I would have such an impact on someone, I would have followed my gut instinct and come back."_

"_When the only life you can remember well, happens to be fraught with war, anything that lets you escape is bound to have an impact. Your initial visit did that for everyone, whether they realized it or not." Perceptor finishes one more thing on your hand and you watch as the skin molds itself to the fingers again._

_You watch in stunned silence; your mate laughing inside at your reaction. "One of these days I've got to spend some time at one of those terminals and learn everything about everything Cybertronians know, cause that skin thing is cool."_

"_You can do whatever you want, within reason from now on, during the off hours. Right now, you and Blast Master need to report to Jetfire for a trip into space so you two can learn to fly together in zero gravity." Perceptor says, helping you off the table._

_You and Blast Master start to exit the room, but you turn around and look at Perceptor with admiration. "Thank you Perceptor."_

"_You're welcome." Perceptor answers you._

"_No, I mean it Perceptor, thank you for saving my life." _

_Perceptor looks at you and smiles, then gives you a slight nod, telling you that there is understanding._

GG GG GG GG GG

"**This is probably the coolest thing I've ever done in my life." You say, via internal communications, to Blast Master and Jetfire as you propel yourself through the void of space. "When I was a kid I dreamt of going into space and now I can." **

**You have completely forgotten your fear of heights, or your bond has hidden it in an area where it can't affect you anymore. Either way, you don't care. This is way too much. **

**Jetfire reaches over and keeps you from spinning out of control. "You'd better be a little more careful than that Phaser. We can't have you deactivating yourself by accident."**

**You smile up at the massive mech who is holding you by two fingers. Blast Master is watching you with fascination, realizing just how young you really are.**

"**One of these days you're going to teach me the properties of how I'm able to move myself, right" You slowly push Jetfire's fingers from your, narrow, shoulders. "Am I able to fly by myself?"**

"**You can, but not at fast speeds. You need Blast Master to be able to fly at the speeds I do and vice versa." You can see Jetfire watching the two of you with interest. There is a slight concern in the mech's optics, but you've decided not to push anything.**

"**I think we should start to learn about our movement." Blast Master says, apparently taking charge. "Are we supposed to be able to connect while in midair…or in no air, I guess?"**

**You stifle a laugh, remembering there is no air in space, not that you need it anymore. **

**Jetfire nods. "Phaser, I want you to transform and start to move away from the planet. Then I want Blast Master to follow, speed up and the two of you form a connection. Then I want the two of you to speed up and head for that satellite." **

"**Think we can do that?" You ask.**

"**Only one way to find out." Blast Master smiles at you as you transform and start off at a slow pace. You can't hear Blast Master transform, but you know via the bond that your mate has transformed and is coming after you. **

""**I'm coming up behind you Phaser, don't slow down."" You hear Blast Master tell you through the bond. **

**Even though you have internal communications and the bond, it's a little strange to have no actual auditory sounds. They really weren't kidding when they used the catch phrase "In Space No One Can Hear You Scream" for the movie "Alien". **

**You can't hear a thing, except the occasional static from the internal communications and the hum from the bond. So lost in the fact that you can't hear, you stop and Blast Master collides with you, causing the two of you to spin away from one another. **

**You transform and start your small amount of rocket power to do an about face. Then you sheepishly look from your mate to Jetfire. "Sorry. I guess the silence up here is a little daunting to me."**

"**Don't worry about it. That's why we're here to practice. No one expects you to be able to do this all on the first try." Jetfire tells you reassuringly. **

""**Sorry."" You tell Blast Master.**

""**Don't worry about it kid; just give a little warning next time."" Blast Master laughs, causing you to stop your worrying.**

GG GG GG GG GG

""_I always thought I would enjoy space because of how quiet it is, but this is insanely quiet. I actually miss the sounds of the wind and the birds."" You say as you and Blast Master connect for the first time in mid-flight. _

""_That's why we have internal communicators and this bond. We can open up and listen to our other mates sing and it'll probably be too loud."" Blast Master laughs at your slight shock of how silent it is._

""_I don't think anything can be too silent right now."" The two of you do an about face and head back toward Jetfire, who is waiting patiently a few hundred kilometers away. _

"_Jetfire?" You say, hoping not to disturb the mech. "How long did it take for you to learn to fly?"_

_Jetfire doesn't have the humanistic face you and your companions have, so you can't tell what the mech is thinking._

"_I was born knowing how to fly. Like an innate feature in my spark."_

"_Then can I ask you a philosophical question?" You and Blast Master shoot by Jetfire and continue going in large circles around the mech. _

"_Only if you can speed up, break apart, transform and make your way back to me at the same time." Jetfire says in a cheeky tone. _

_It takes a few seconds to realize that the mech is teasing you before you laugh. "Very funny. You'll eat your words cause we aim to do just that." You say, causing both you and Blast Master to speed up and shoot past an amused Jetfire. _

_You concentrate on speeding up until Blast Master tells you to quit gunning it or the two of you will spin out of control during the break off. You slow down and the two of you break off and head in opposite directions for a time while changing back into your bipedal form._

_The two of you stop a few hundred meters from one another and stare at each other for a moment. _

""_Kid, that was intense."" Blast Master says as the two of you push off toward one another._

_When the two of you reach one another, you stop and look toward Jetfire, whom you can't actually see clearly._

"_Jetfire! Can you hear me?" You laugh into the internal communicators. _

"_You are a smart aft Phaser." Jetfire says to you calmly, offsetting your overly excited attitude. "What was your question?"_

"_I was born a human." You say and you can hear your mate do a good impression of mocking you. ""Shut up!"" You say, pushing Blast Master in the arm, causing the mech to retaliate in stride. You can hear Jetfire laughing at the two of you._

"_Do you think I was born to be human or a Cybertronian?" You ask as you and Blast Master near your teacher. _

_Blast Master stops on a dime, and you can tell if Jetfire had a human type face, a look of surprise would be plastered on it. _

"_Is that not an okay question to ask?" You are slightly wary of the response. _

"_No, it's a fascinating question from a member of such a young species. That's like asking if there is one almighty creator of all the universes. That each of us, the countless beings, are planned each step of the way." Jetfire answers you softly. _

"_I did assume the answer would be different per person. What's your opinion on the matter?" You ask, starting up again and making your way over to Jetfire. _

_You stop in front of the contemplating mech and stare; Blast Master comes up behind you and stops too. _

"_My opinion on the matter is: we become what we want to be. There is no limit except our ignorance and our own fear. You wanted to be something different than what you were born into and you became that. You wanted to fly and see the stars, so you took it upon yourself to become what you needed to in order to fulfill that desire."_

_You stare blankly back at your mentor for some time, in fact Blast Master breaks you out of your trance by shaking you slightly. You turn to look at your mate, then back toward Jetfire._

"_I don't know if this is what I want, since what I want no longer wants me." You say. Then you realize this was said through a wide open bond as there are four other voices asking what it is you wanted that made you change who you were._

GG GG GG GG GG

"I gotta say, having this ability to fly would have made it a lot easier to keep away from the Autobots." You tell Blast Master and Jetfire as the three of you do a lap around the solar system. "Not that I'd change this now." You add quickly.

"We all know your personal grudge with the Autobots Phaser; you don't have to apologize for having an opinion." Blast Master tells you.

"Duly noted." You say, pulling your mate into a sudden nosedive, then do a large circle up and over Jetfire, before pulling up into form again.

"What the pit was that?" Blast Master asks, clearly a little shaken at the experience.

"Something I learned while watching "Santa Claus: The Movie", when I was a kid." You say to both your mate and a bemused Jetfire. You send over the memory of the scene to Blast Master, who then understands your desire to try the stunt.

"You do realize flying is more of an art than a job. Think of it like dancing with yourself." Jetfire says, in an unnatural tone.

"Since when did you become so sentimental Jetfire?" You ask, pulling the stunt again, only this time Blast Master is ready and causes the two of you do it even faster.

"Since you remind me of being a youngling."

""Leave the old mech alone."" Blast Master tells you, causing you to laugh. You can tell Jetfire does have a little bit of wariness about you and Blast Master being able to pass notes in class.

"We've spent quite a bit of time out here. In fact, if you check your internal chronometers, you'll find we were out long enough for your mates to actually go into recharge and wake up again, so they're waiting for us to come in."

You and Blast Master stop dead as soon as you verify that information. Jetfire transforms and stops in front of you. "Something the matter?"

"How did time seem to not exist while we were out here?" Blast Master asks, slightly alarmed; sending an apology to your other bond mates about your tardiness. You both receive pings asking if you are okay.

"Time goes by the same no matter where you are, based on how you account for your time. In this case, the phrase "time flies when you're having fun" seems to be a perfect fit." Jetfire says, indicating the planet that is waiting for your touch down.

"I remember how time used to speed by when I was doing something I liked, but how it used to drag when I was doing something I hated." You say, breaking off and transforming as well. "Is it possible we were flying so fast we passed time?"

This causes Jetfire to laugh as Blast Master also transforms, looking at you like you just bit the head off a bird. You send what you can remember of a show to your bond mate, on how the two went so fast, they actually ended up evolving in a matter of days into what their species would eventually become.

Blast Master takes that information in stride then looks over at Jetfire, who is receiving the same information via internal communications.

"We are not capable of the speeds which you are asking about, so I don't know if it's true. For the moment, you cannot outrun time. Time will eventually catch up with you." Jetfire says, laughing again.

Those words ring true to your audio sensors as you tell yourself, time will find you, whether you are flying or not.

7


	14. Second Alternates

Second Alternates

""_I don't want to get up. You can't make me."" You complain, trying to remember the last time you were able to sleep without waking up throughout the night. The first night in years happens and your bond mate is trying to wake you up. ""Go away!"" You turn yourself over, give Blast Master the finger, and shut off the bond._

_You hear the door to your shared room close and a smile slinks into your CPU. Finally, some sleep. You start to think about absolutely nothing and you are being pulled into recharge again, then two beings jump you._

"_What the pit!" You sit up fast, causing both Moonrock and Barrage to fall off your berth into a pile on the floor. "What are you doing?" You ask, completely awake._

_Moonrock giggles. "You have to get up so we can get our second alternate modes today."_

"_Why are you using me as a trampoline?" You ask in general disgust at your forced awakening. _

"_That was something I remember you thinking about your kids. How they used to jump on you to wake you up on Saturday mornings." Barrage says, helping Moonrock up off the floor. _

_For a moment you are on the verge of being completely flabbergast. You look at your two mates in front of you, so much like your kids. "Sorry I yelled at you." You say, realizing you wouldn't have acted like an ass if your own kids had done that to you. How are these two any different?_

"_It's okay…will you let us in?" Moonrock asks, grabbing your hand. You open the bond and let both of them mentally tackle you, causing all three of you to laugh._

"_You do that again and I'll send you to Wheeljack to use as lab assistants." You say, showing them the memory of your first time seeing Wheeljack._

"_That's kind of creepy." Barrage says, opening your door and, with Moonrock's help, pulls you out. _

"_Speaking of creepy, why are we getting secondary alternate modes?" Moonrock asks the entire group._

"_Technically we're not getting secondary alternate modes. Just the programming we need to connect to a different, person in the same alternate mode we already turn into for our first mode." Heave says, not even looking up from a data pad._

"_Come again?" You ask, joining Missile Master in getting some energy._

_Heave looks up from the data pad and stares at you for a moment, almost daring you not to understand. You haven't a clue, so Heave jumps off the ledge and walks over to the group._

"_Presently you and Blast Master turn into a space worthy vehicle that is large enough to transport multiple mechs. Missile Master and Moonrock turn into a vehicle that is similar to an Earth fire engine. Then Barrage and I turn into something that is similar in size to one of those golf carts I've seen you dream about. You don't see a size difference between each of us?" Heave asks in a mocking tone. _

"_It was just a question, why don't you enlighten me since I seem to be the one lacking in intelligence in this group." You snap. _

"_Lay off each other." Blast Master warns the two of you to grow up._

""_I think you're smart."" Barrage tells you through the bond, and you can tell no one else caught the message. _

"_This program will allow you to shrink the size of your alternate mode so you can attach onto Missile Master." Heave says, the same distain from weeks ago prevalent. _

"_That's all you had to say." You narrow the light of your optics, doing a great impression of a scowl. _

_There is utter silence in the room for almost twenty minutes, which is broken instantly when Perceptor barges in. You watch as the mech counts you and your bond mates, then points to the door without saying a word. _

_You walk down the hallway in silence, wondering what has Perceptor so up in arms that the mech won't talk. _

"_I got a late night visit from a friend of yours." Perceptor tells you over the communicators. _

"_Didn't realize I had any friends here, bond mates, yes. Scientists who want to study me, yes. Unless Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are back from wherever they were sent, I don't see me having any friends here." You deadpan. _

"_Wheeljack managed to break into my unit without setting off my alarms or blowing the place to the pit and back." Perceptor spits out, obviously rather annoyed._

_For a moment all of your programming stalls. "And I should care, why?" You ask with an air of indifference. _

"_I can't believe you'd even say that." Perceptor huffs. "That insubordinate glitch makes me watch a video of the two of us back on Earth, the one I recorded for scientific purposes."_

_You stop moving and look up at Perceptor, who is seething. "How did 'Jack get that?"_

"_Ask those slag-headed twins when they get back. I'm sure they had something to do with it." You notice your bond mates have kept walking and are rounding a corner to the lab. Perceptor looks down at you, then kneels. "I never intended anyone to see that, but Wheeljack knows enough about Earth practices to know what the experiment was."_

_You feel a sudden wave of nausea, something you haven't felt since Bluestreak attacked you the first time. "How'd Wheeljack take that?" You already know the answer. _

"_Wheeljack asked if I had taken advantage of you, even though you were the one who initiated the encounter. Then the mech did something I've never seen an Autobot do in all my years."_

_For a moment you are dreading the response. What could Wheeljack have done that would make Perceptor act as if the world were coming to an end?_

"_Asked me if I would take it back if I could?" Perceptor says as if it's the most horrible crime in history._

_You stifle a laugh, not quite understanding how that specific question is such a bad thing to ask. Perceptor notices your confusion, prompting a continuation of the discussion._

"_Asking a scientist with the programming I have that question regarding anything scientific, even if it hurts people, is the same as someone questioning your judgment. Basically asking if you made that mistake because you were some mindless drone."_

_You still don't completely follow. "I don't understand."_

_Perceptor thinks for a moment and you watch, trying to see if there is something in your conversation that could make you understand the problem._

"_I am going to use a few words that are utterly offensive, so please don't take offense because I wouldn't use these words in civilized or uncivilized conversation, ever. I'm just referencing them to make a point." Perceptor says, discomfort lacing every word._

"_Okay." You say with uncertainty. _

"_What do you think about when I use the derogatory words; nigger… fag… wetback…or…retard?" Perceptor asks, forcing each word out._

_You wince at each word. "Every single one of them should be thrown out of the human dictionary." You say, wishing you never had to hear terms like that again._

"_Asking me that question is like using any of those slang words in a derogatory sentence aimed to make someone feel less about themselves."_

_For a moment you don't know if your audio processed the information correctly. "'Jack actually said that? To you?"_

"_I don't think I've ever seen Wheeljack that mortified in my life. When someone is so out of sorts, it causes us to become someone we're not. I personally don't like using those references, but I'm more concerned that I've shattered what little friendship I ever had with the mech." _

_You glance at Perceptor with a slight amount of pity. "Well that was enough of a shock for me, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. 'Jack'll come around."_

_Perceptor chuckles. "It should be me telling you that about Wheeljack, not the other way around." Perceptor motions for the two of you to continue down the hallway toward the lab. You grin and start walking, though your normal gait is slightly lacking. _

GG GG GG GG GG

"**I'm not so sure I understand the point of this alternate mode combination." Missile Master says, while getting the new programming that will enable you to combine.**

**Perceptor continues to work on getting you hooked up to the console so you can get the programming too. "Right now this is just an experiment, so these second alternate modes are just a trial."**

**You shutter slightly as you start getting residual feedback from your connection to the console. After a few moments of bombardment, you start receiving the correct programming and you watch, with your optics off, all of the coding that is being downloaded into your CPU.**

**You know from previous discussions the CPU is actually located in the spark, so you look for a diagram that explains how this cord, that is attached to the back of your head, will get the information from your head down to your spark.**

**What you come up with is energy transference. The energy your spark is emitting throughout the body you are occupying latches onto the new information in a process similar to how messenger RNA attaches to DNA sequences. Then the energy transports the information back and forth between your CPU and the remainder of your body. **

""**What is messenger RNA?"" Barrage asks, bringing you out of your trance. **

**You think for a moment to see if there is a way to explain this without going into too much detail. ""It's basically a blueprint that transports information from one area to another."" Your inquisitive bond mate doesn't seem to want a further explanation, so you leave it at that.**

**When Perceptor unhooks you from the terminal, you walk over to a chair and hop on, watching your remaining mates receive their programming. You recall the last few days of your human life, and for the first time, let reality completely sink in.**

**No longer will you be able to perform miracles on people, or what people consider miracles. You won't be able to see your family again, and the fact that you haven't thought about your son or your ex, since waking up a Cybertronian, starts to dawn on you.**

**Rash decisions created your little team. Rash on your part since you completely blocked out your previous life. **

"**You look pretty far away right now." The kind voice inside your head starts to pull you back from the depression that is trying to engulf you. **

"**I'm finally thinking about my family…friends. I believe I actually forgot them." You say back to Wheeljack. **

"**I was wondering when all of this would finally hit you." You look at Wheeljack, who is currently across the room, leaning against a wall. **

"**Before you say anything, I have no regrets." You say, hoping to ward off any thoughts on the subject.**

"**I'm glad to hear that, because this is permanent. Are you going to be okay or do you want some time to think it over?"**

"**I'll worry about it later on. I'm not about to cause any unpleasantness for anyone else right now." You lie. You could really use a few hours by yourself to mull over what has happened, but you keep a lid on that piece of information. **

**You look over at Wheeljack, who you know doesn't believe a word of it, but isn't going to push. Then there's you, sitting on a chair, one half of you on the verge of a nervous breakdown, the other half completely calm. **

**When did you become two distinct personalities? Nothing to do with the bond, but who you were and who you are. You are unsure at the moment and decide to do what you do best. Hide the feelings under a blanket of pretend happiness. **

GG GG GG GG GG

"So are we going to get out of here and try these out, or are we done for the day?" You ask as soon as Moonrock has completed the download.

"In a hurry to be somewhere?" Perceptor asks, almost like your mom used to ask when you wanted to go out and play with your friends.

"Bored out of my processor."

"We could always have Sunstreaker come and teach you some hand to hand combat." Perceptor says, trying to bait you.

"Prime finally let those two out of the brig?" You ask, full of sarcasm.

"Technically it was your fault they had to stay in the brig longer. You did break them out and attempt a joy ride." Perceptor points out. At the moment you don't care. Everything up to this point, except that little flying lesson, has been beyond boring and you are feeling restless for something to keep you interested.

""Are we really that bad?"" Blast Master asks. You become fully aware that your bond isn't blocked, so all of your mates have heard your inner dialog.

""No…and don't tell me that you like sitting on your aft doing nothing. I may not want to go out and kick someone's butt, but I would at least like the opportunity to mingle with others.""

You are pleasantly shocked to hear a general consensus from your partners regarding your situation. You all want to get out and do something. Not just for one night, but for a longer period of time. In truth, you need a vacation, from each other.

"I want a vacation Perceptor. From all of this, before you start sending us into whatever war zone you plan on sending us." You say for everyone.

Perceptor looks at you. No, not just looks, contemplates. You begin to wonder if you've struck a nerve.

"Alright. You can have a vacation, but I want to make sure each of you is capable of connecting with your secondary partners before you go gallivanting around the planet."

You are in shock. Perceptor has completely floored you and you can tell your reaction is being found amusing by the larger mech.

"What?" Perceptor asks innocently. "You don't think I know how to have fun. I think I proved that to you years ago."

You stifle a laugh. "I should report you for sexual harassment, but I don't think that word belongs in your vocabulary."

You send Perceptor a ping about what sexual harassment is, causing the mech to just about short out. "I would never…" Perceptor begins what you are sure is going to be a beautiful monologue.

"Relax Perceptor. I'm in a good mood, so I'm borrowing some of Sideswipe's persona." You say, while telling your bond mates what just happened via the bond.

Perceptor points toward the door; which you make good use of, just about skipping out of the room, followed by your confused bond mates. You hear the door shut and are sure Perceptor is following at a good distance behind.

When you emerge from inside the building, you see Erector in the court yard talking to a mech you've only met once, before your science trip.

Erector looks at you and your team and leaves Strikedown to come and speak with you. "Strikedown was one of the mechs torn by this project. Seems to be rethinking again." Erector tells you. Then Erector addresses the group. "I want each of you to pair off and stand next to your secondary partners."

You and your mates comply with the request, and soon you and Missile Master are standing off to one side, watching Heave and Moonrock change into alternate mode. In this particular case, Heave increases in size and you are surprised to see a satellite dish of some sort appear out of subspace and attach itself to Heave's aft.

You watch as a third of your bond mates maneuver their way around the court yard, transform and it's over. Next.

For Blast Master and Barrage it is slightly different. Blast Master actually shrinks down to the size of a golf cart, or at least the alternate mode does. You try to see if either mech actually utilizes the mass displacement at all; you can't tell.

These two move around, and it surprises you that they also hover off the ground a few feet. Once their turn is over, you look at your mate and nod. It's your turn.

It doesn't surprise you too much that you are smaller in this mode than the other mode. The attachment of the missile does startle you, but Missile Master tells you not to worry, almost like a lover tells a virgin girl that the first time is the roughest, it will get better.

The two of you move about the court yard. ""Are we able to fly or hover too?"" You ask.

""No, the mechanism that allows you to hover in bipedal mode is by my face, so you wouldn't be able to use it.""

This answer doesn't bother you too much, you really want to go back to Iacon and speak to the hologram Wheeljack created, so your mind is rather elsewhere right now.

After your little trip through the courtyard, you and Missile Master transform and walk over to your group.

"I'm not sure what these secondary forms will be for, and there may even be third forms, but for right now I think it's best you go about your little vacations. I'll give you 48 Earth hours to do whatever you want." Perceptor says. "Besides, I don't think I could have kept Phaser's interest much longer anyway."

This remark causes all of you to laugh, as you dash off toward your rooms to get enough energy for a trip to Iacon.

GG GG GG GG GG

"**You all did a good job today." Perceptor praises you like a bunch of school kids. "I've decided to give each of you 24 Earth hours to do with what you will, think of it as a vacation."**

**You can hear both Barrage and Moonrock squeal at the thought of being able to go on a vacation and you can hear a side conversation with both of them discussing going to one of the moons.**

**You don't even realize your bond mates have dispersed in multiple directions, so when you find yourself alone, it actually startles you.**

""**Sorry about that Phaser, do you want to come to the moon with us?"" Moonrock asks, on the verge of being hyper at the thought of leaving the planet.**

""**No, I'll stay here and hold down the fort."" You say while heading back to your suite. **

**You don't get too far when you hear footsteps behind you. "I'm not following you, I promise." Wheeljack tells you over the internal communications channel. "I'm going back to Iacon for a while."**

**You nod, stop, and wait for Wheeljack to catch up. "Can I go with you again?"**

"**I have no problems, though it won't be nearly as fun as last time. Sunstreaker found something questionable and needs me to take a look at it." Wheeljack says as the two of you exit the Science Center and walk through the crowded streets.**

"**Sounds better than staying here and doing nothing."**

"**I'm sure your bond mates would have been more than happy to have you tag along."**

"**Of course they wouldn't have minded, but I would have." You say as the two of you walk to the transit tube. "You already know my problem. You won't try to help, just be there."**

GG GG GG GG GG

"_I'm sorry to do this to you, but Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have found what looks to be an explosive device in Iacon. I'm calling you all to duty as of this moment. You'll travel to Iacon and assess the situation with Kup, Springer and the Dinobots." Rodimus Prime tells your group, just as the alternate mode demonstration is complete._

_You and your mates don't look at each other, but your bond is alive with chatter. You can hear half a dozen different conversations going on at one time, most of them rather neutral, but you can feel the fear radiating from somewhere._

_Then you realize the fear is coming from you. _

9


	15. Separation

Separation

**You watch as you pass through the ruined streets of old Iacon. This is a place you hadn't been to before, in fact, if you remember correctly, you just passed Wheeljack's lab a second ago.**

**The desolate streets are a blur from inside of Wheeljack, and you marvel at how fast the two of you are going. You also marvel at how the mech seems able to jump over any obstacle without upsetting you from your seat in the passenger side. **

**You turn and put your hand on the glass material that makes up the window. **

"**Your hand is cold." Wheeljack says to you in a collected tone. **

"**Sorry." You apologize, removing your hand and placing it in your lap.**

"**That's okay, you've been so quiet, I actually forgot you were there." Wheeljack chuckles.**

"**Can you feel this?" You say, tracing your finger along the dash board.**

"**I can feel everything you do, but when you place your finger in one area and just leave it there, my system decides to stop sending me messages that said finger is still in that area, so I forget it's there."**

**You start drawing figure eights over the other seat, just to see if there is a response. "Humans are the same way. Once you place a finger on the end of your nose, eventually the synapses will stop firing and you won't feel it anymore, provided you can keep from looking at it and physically see it there."**

"**Anyone ever tell you we are also ticklish on our internal skin?" Wheeljack asks, causing the seat to shudder slightly.**

"**Sorry," you laugh, removing your finger from the seat. "If I ever get a chance, I'd really like to do a comparative analysis between the two species. I'm thinking Nobel Peace Prize or something." **

"**You're the Doctor, Doctor. I think we should find Ratchet while we're here and you can discuss the genetic makeup of a Cybertronian with an actual medic."**

"**Sounds good to me." You say, leaning forward in the seat. "What is that?" You point to something red in the distance.**

"**That would probably be Sideswipe. You'll see a similar built model in the color yellow soon. That one will be Sunstreaker. The twins were sent on a reconnaissance mission with Jazz. Though why those two were chosen is completely beyond my comprehension. That's like sending a child into a forest to fight a fire." Wheeljack says. **

**You look closely and you can see a yellow being standing next to the red being. The red one, Sideswipe, is waving like a little kid in a parade. The yellow one seems to be standing still, not doing anything.**

**Wheeljack speeds up slightly and then stops right in front of the two waiting mechs, opens the door and lets you out. You look up at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe while Wheeljack transforms.**

**While the yellow one seems to look at you with only mild curiosity, the red one immediately starts yammering. **

"**You must be one of the volunteers for that project we were asked to assist with. You didn't have your alternate mode at the time, so you looked like a gray colored Martian."**

"**Get real." The yellow one says. You can hear a hint of the same distain Heave used to wear like a psychedelic shirt.**

"**I am getting real." Sideswipe says. "Speaking of real, we found this device on the underside of this rubble pile over here. Jazz disappeared a while back, we assume to follow Soundwave's minions. Rather than bring it back to Uraya, we thought it better to leave it and have you take a look at it."**

"**That was a pretty intelligent move there Sideswipe. I'm impressed." Wheeljack says. **

**You stand back and watch the interaction between the three mechs, as they discuss what this device looks like and where it's located. You decide, out of pure curiosity, to go over to where the device is located and take a look at it. **

**The device's size actually surprises you. At least as big as you are, the device is wedged under a wall of some sort. It is almost completely covered, but you can see the intricate detail on the outside. You see there is a hole, maybe just big enough for your arm to fit inside. **

**Now you are too smart to put your hand inside of an unknown device, but what's the harm in looking on the side that is buried under the wall. You slowly wedge yourself inside and look at the side of the device.**

**You see a symbol that you remember seeing from before, but it eludes you for the moment. You look lower and see another symbol, this one is new, so you make a memory of it.**

**While looking at the symbol, you completely blank out that you are not alone, so when the wall flips over, it startles you.**

"**Now why'd you go and hide next to this?" Sideswipe asks, grinning at you. You point to the symbols and that smile evaporates rather quickly. "I think you should come away from there."**

"**Hey 'Jack. This thing belongs to the Cons, not only that it has a radiation warning on it." Sideswipe says, pulling you out of your nook and placing you out of reach.**

**You watch as Wheeljack walks toward the device and starts to mutter. "Well I'll be damned. I haven't seen one of these since before we crashed on Earth."**

**Wheeljack gets down on a knee and puts a hand on the device, feeling for something. You watch, occasionally steeling a glance at both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to see if their expressions will tell you more about the situation.**

**The silence continues, though you notice Wheeljack's ears keep flashing various colors of the rainbow. You lock eyes with Sunstreaker, who holds your gaze for a minute.**

"**Are you one of the volunteers Sides and I downloaded the bond block to?" You hear over the internal communicators.**

"**Yeah, I'm actually the human, turned Cybertronian, turned bond mate." You answer, taking your eyes away from Sunstreaker and looking back at Wheeljack.**

**After a few more minutes of silence Wheeljack speaks up again. "I don't know how to tell you this, but this radiation cartridge is leaking. If we leave it here, it will spread radiation to the entire region."**

"**Wait a minute." You say, taking a step back. "Radiation is bad."**

"**No kidding." Sunstreaker says, scowling at you.**

"**The amount that is stored in here won't be detrimental if it continues to leak out slowly, but it will consume the planet eventually and cause a number of problems with, not only our internals, but all other mechanics as well." Wheeljack mumbles, studying the hole on the end of the device.**

"**How long will that take?" Sideswipe asks.**

"**Not as long as I would hope and if the Decepticons get wind of this, or they already know about it, it will be a major advantage to their cause."**

"**So move out of the way and let's blow this thing to the pit and back." Sunstreaker snarls, aiming a weapon at the device.**

"**Easy now." Wheeljack says, calmly. Too calmly for your taste. "There is a problem with that. If we detonate it on the planet, then it will affect the systems in this general area quickly and cause massive damage to the area in its wake."**

"**So, what the frag are we supposed to do about it then?" Sunstreaker asks, clearly agitated.**

"**We need to get it away from the planet and detonate it in space, away from Cybertron and the stars we orbit."**

GG GG GG GG GG

"Of all the stupid things to do." You say as you trudge back to Wheeljack's lab. "Let's fall into recharge and miss our exit. Now you gotta walk a few kilometers in order to get to the lab."

You decide to stop talking to yourself, since you already feel like a fool. Instead you open your bond and ask how your mates are doing. You can feel and hear both Missile Master and Blast Master, who have gone to visit friends and creators.

You can hear Heave, discussing something with another mech born of the same creator. You can also hear Moonrock and Barrage, who are happily visiting the closest moon that recently went into orbit since the infamous Unicron attacks.

""Are you two having fun up there?"" You ask your mates. Laughing at their exuberance.

""This is so cool. You all should have come with us!"" Barrage says, sending you a picture of what the terrain looks like.

""As much fun as that would have been, I haven't seen Road Burner in longer than you've been alive, so I will join you next time."" Heave says, cutting off the bond.

""You two have fun while you're up there."" Blast Master says.

You listen in on the communications within the bond for a while more before you tune it out. There is something against a fallen wall that resembles the coffin Kirk shot Spock out of the Enterprise in on "Star Trek II".

You carefully make your way over to the device and look at it. You send a picture of the device to Blast Master and Missile Master, who stop what they are doing and pay attention to your finding.

""You be careful around that thing kid. We don't know what it is."" Missile Master warns.

""Thanks for the advice."" You scoff.

You start to clear some of the loose debris around the base of the device and see there is a crevice that is just big enough for you to squeeze inside of to take a better look at the side of the device.

You crawl into the nook and look at the side. The first thing that catches your eye is the Decepticon symbol.

""Phaser, I think you should leave that thing be. I'll let Perceptor know what you've found."" Blast Master calls out, clearly worried.

You look at the other symbol and your systems stall.

""This thing says radiation."" You say to your bond mates, all of them.

All five of your bond mates stop what they are doing and look at the radiation symbol you are transmitting via the bond.

""Phaser get on out of there. Those were supposed to be discarded during the clean up of the city. I doubt even the Cons know it's still there."" Heave all but shouts into the bond.

You climb out of the nook and stand up, walking away from it backward. Then a hole on the end catches your eye. You walk toward the hole and peer inside. You see there is a lever of some sort, just a foot or so away from the hole.

"I wouldn't touch that lever if I were you Autobot, unless you want to die instantly." You hear a cold voice behind you.

You turn to see who is standing behind you and are surprised that it's not a bipedal mech, but one on all fours.

""Phaser, that's Ravage."" Blast Master calls. ""I'm sending help right now. Soundwave and the rest of Ravage's siblings are probably within the vicinity.""

You don't answer, you just continue to look at Ravage.

"Are you a mute?" Ravage sneers at you.

"No." You say with conviction. "How can this device kill me?"

"If you're not careful, that device will level what used to be Iacon and kill anyone that is within the city, along with a number of levels below the city." Ravage watches you intently and this gives you the feeling of ants crawling up your back.

"How many of you are here?" You ask Ravage, hoping the help Blast Master promised is on its way.

"You won't stand a chance." Ravage taunts you.

For a moment you glare at your opponent, not dropping your gaze. "Wanna bet?" You ask, turning around and pressing down on the lever.

_GG GG GG GG GG_

"_I'm not sure if I should be excited or not, going on a mission." Moonrock says from within you and Blast Master._

"_Keeping positive will probably make this little trip go a whole lot better." Springer says, watching the descent into the city._

"_Is this the place?" You ask, looking for a place to touch down._

"_This is it kids, stay close." Kup says, taking the lead, even though Grimlock insists on being in charge._

_You let your passengers out, then you and Blast Master transform and take up the rear with Springer._

"_What exactly are we looking for?" You ask. "How come Sunstreaker and Sideswipe left?"_

"_Jazz called them to help with tracking Soundwave. They're probably so far in the bowels of the planet, we'd be lucky to find them." Springer says, keeping watch over the terrain._

_You continue keeping watch and occasionally glance at Swoop, who is flying around in circles above you and the group._

_You decide you'd rather hover along then walk, so you raise yourself up to being eye level with Springer, who laughs at your sudden rise in height._

"_That's one great trick." The mech says, smiling at you._

"_Hey Springer, come and take a look at this." Kup calls, causing Springer to move forward to where the mech is kneeling, looking at something. You ascend a little higher into the sky and look over Grimlock's shoulder. _

"_What that?" You hear the one that looks like a triceratops ask._

"_I haven't seen one of these in years and I'm not happy about seeing it here." Kup says in the gravest voice you've heard in your lifetime._

"_What is it?" Blast Master asks, pushing your other bond mates back on instinct._

"_This is a radiation canister the Decepticons used to use to disable mechs slowly. It slowly leaks energized radiation into the atmosphere, causing anything mechanical to shut down." _

"_Great, so how do we get rid of it?" Springer asks._

"_There isn't a way, unless you know how to dismantle it."_

"_Let me, Grimlock, throw it into space. Let radiation out up there." Grimlock says, moving to remove the crumbled wall off the canister._

"_That's a good idea Grimlock, but we can't have you throw it, it wouldn't make it. I think we'll have Blast Master and Phaser fly it out to space and we'll leave it there till we can figure out what else to do about it." Kup says, assisting with the removal of the debris. _

"_Springer, do you think you could transform and carry this thing over to that clearing?" Kup asks. You move off, still in flight, away from the clearing. You notice each of your bond mates is keeping back too, letting the professionals deal with this device. _

_Springer transforms and grabs hold of the device and starts to slowly move it off the ground. You back up some more, intent on following behind so you can help get rid of the device._

_Something catches your sight, out of the corner of your optic. You turn and see a small black and red mech standing off to one side of a large pile of rubble. You take a closer look and see the mech has some sort of device aimed at the canister._

"_Hey Kup!" You shout, trying to get the older mechs attention._

"_What's the matter Phaser?" Kup asks. You point. Kup looks. "Rumble, you ignorant little glitch." Kup booms over the noise of Springer's blades. _

_This causes everyone to look at the mech, who smiles evilly and presses a button on whatever the mech is holding. It doesn't take long for you to feel yourself slipping away at the same time you feel yourself being flung back from your original direction._

_You watch as a cloud of radiation engulfs your team and you feel an ungodly pain as energy shoots out of your spark in mid-flight. You scream at the top of your vocalizer, shorting it out, then nothing._

**GG GG GG GG GG**

"**Jetfire, I need you to help me take this away from the planet and the suns." Wheeljack says, pointing toward the device. **

**Jetfire eyes it, head cocked to one side. "I can help you take it, but what do you plan on doing with it?"**

"**I'll decide when I get it out there." Wheeljack says, slowly lifting the device out of the pile of wall it's imbedded in.**

**Jetfire walks over to a clearing and transforms. You watch as Wheeljack walks toward the door into Jetfire, then you follow.**

"**What are you doing?" You ask, worried the mech might be doing something stupid. **

"**I'm getting the offending object out of Cybertron. I want you to go back to Uraya with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."**

"**Not." You say, stubbornly. "I think you're going to need me on this one." You say, walking up the ramp and into Jetfire's cabin.**

"**I don't have time to argue you on this one." Wheeljack says. "Jetfire, lets get out of here."**

**Jetfire starts up and you watch as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker get smaller in your optical range. You turn around and watch as Wheeljack contemplates the device, looking at it from all angles. **

"**I had hoped to never see something like this in my lifetime." Wheeljack says, looking at your curious expression.**

"**Can you discard of it without hurting anyone?" You ask, sitting on the floor.**

"**I hope so. This is one nasty device the Decepticons came up with. Either disable everything slowly with radiation, or set off something like an atomic bomb." Wheeljack turns the object up on end. "This hole is where the internal detonator is located."**

"**Can you rig it to destroy itself?" **

"**I wish I had brought my subspace pocket on this trip. I left so fast I forgot to grab it. I don't have anything small enough to go in there and trip the switch." Wheeljack says in a disapproving tone. "Jetfire, do you have anything in your subspace pocket small enough to fit into this hole."**

"**I'm afraid I don't Wheeljack." Jetfire says from all around you.**

**You walk up to stand next to Wheeljack. "I told you I would be necessary." You say, holding out your arm. **

"**Oh yeah, that'll go over great with Perceptor." Wheeljack says, pushing your arm away.**

"**I don't think there's any other option." You say.**

"**There's always another option." Wheeljack says, as Jetfire banks, causing the canister to fall.**

"**That radiation is affecting me Wheeljack. I won't be able to go any further." Jetfire says, and then, as if to prove the point, stops in mid-flight. **

"**We can't leave it here. We need just a little more space between us and that moon." Wheeljack says, then starts to curse in Cybertronian. **

**You walk closer to the canister and put your audio sensor as close as you can get it. You hear a slight hiss sound, something you didn't hear before.**

"**Wheeljack, I think this thing is leaking faster." You say, motioning toward the canister.**

**Wheeljack kneels down by the canister and listens. "Jetfire, open up, I'll take it the rest of the way." Wheeljack picks up the canister and goes to the door, you follow. "Where do you think you're going?"**

"**Be logical Wheeljack. We can't just leave that thing out in space leaking as it is. If we detonate it, the radiation will be spread thinner and maybe it won't cause as much damage." You say, jumping out of the door and flying.**

"**I wish you weren't right. Come on." Wheeljack grabs your arm and starts to pull you away from Jetfire. "Jetfire, when you get mobility, leave the area."**

"**What are you up to 'Jack?" Jetfire asks.**

"**We're going on a suicide mission. When I reach my limit on flying I'll be too energy depleted to get back and Phaser is right. I need that small arm to detonate this device."**

"**You are crazy 'Jack. I know you're used to blowing yourself up, but be serious. There has to be another way." Jetfire argues.**

"**I'd rather do it now, then risk anyone else being contaminated." Wheeljack says, looking at you holding on for dear life.**

"**Try and hold out as long as you can. I'll see if I can get help." You turn slightly and watch as Jetfire speeds off.**

"**I don't think we're going to make it kid, can you see the radiation leaking from the canister?" Wheeljack asks. You look at the tear, that is becoming steadily bigger and you realize this is it.**

""**Can anyone hear me?"" You ask your bond mates, hoping someone is close enough to hear you.**

""**What's going on?"" You hear Barrage ask from the moon.**

""**I think I'm about to die."" You say nonchalantly.**

""**What?"" Moonrock asks, clearly alarmed. **

""**I got myself into a losing situation. I don't think I'm going to make it."" You tell your mates.**

""**Just a second."" Barrage says. A few seconds pass. ""Blast Master wants to know what's going on?""**

**You look at Wheeljack, who has stopped moving and is looking at you. "Is it time?" You ask, knowing full well what the answer is.**

"**It is. Say good-bye." Wheeljack brings you up to where the hole in the device is.**

""**I'm saying good-bye. I'll miss you all."" You say into the bond. You cut it off just as you hear Moonrock cry out your name.**

"**I guess this is it huh." You say, reaching your hand out and fingering the opening.**

"**You're a lot braver than you give yourself credit for Phaser. We were lucky you fell into our laps." Wheeljack says, pulling both you and the device closer. **

**You laugh slightly. "I actually kind of wonder it we were maybe supposed to end up together." You reach your hand inside the device and feel the lever.**

"**We obviously were. There's no way we can survive a blast like this from space." Wheeljack rests on your head, watching as you grab the detonation device. "See you in the matrix." **

**The whisper is soft and calming. You lean closer into Wheeljack's face and shut your optics. Then you pull your arm back as fast as possible. **

11


	16. Endings

Endings

_Slowly, consciousness seeps into your system and you become aware. Well, kinda, not completely, as all you can do is look at blackness and make out speaking, though the words are all jumbled together. _

_Then the pain. It hits you like a tidal wave washes the surf. You cry out in agony, but are unaware if it is in your head you are screaming or if it's out loud. For a few seconds the only thing in the world is you and the pain, dancing together._

_When the cry finally dies down to a whimper, you try to open your bond and see if anyone else is in as much pain as you are. You get nothing. There isn't anyone out there, you are alone._

""_Is anybody out there?"" You ask desperately. ""Why won't you answer me? Open the bond!""_

_Still nothing._

_You stay stationary, too confused to move. Then the voices you are hearing like so much background noise come into focus._

"_There's nothing we can do right now Wheeljack."_

_Is that Erector talking to Wheeljack? You try to call out for help, but it falls on deaf audios. The voice continues._

"_I'm telling you though; it's absolutely amazing Phaser is still alive. The only two who made it out of ground zero alive were Swoop and Phaser."_

_What! Another voice starts, you believe this is Perceptor._

"_We deduce the only reason these two were able to survive is neither were on the ground when the device detonated. It's a good thing we had someone looking for the other Decepticons in that area and we were on high alert as it was. We wouldn't have been able to handle a sneak attack like that."_

"_I'm alive." You say to yourself. Of course you can't figure out how to talk right now anyway. _

_Then a voice you figured on never hearing again starts to speak and puts your spark at rest._

"_What are you going to do for Phaser?" Wheeljack asks. You can hear the concern, though it is subtle._

"_With the rest of Phaser's bond mates deactivated, there isn't much we can do. We're going to get rid of the radiation. That part isn't hard, just time consuming. But when five sixths of your existence has been eradicated, there isn't much of anything anyone can do. I'm sorry Wheeljack, but Phaser will most likely offline without even waking up."_

_Well that was rather cold, wasn't it? So you're going to die, nothing wrong with that. It hurts too much without your bond mates anyway. That, and the feeling of being utterly alone is starting to give you an abnormal spark rhythm. _

"_There has to be something you can do." You can hear Wheeljack plead with Perceptor to not let anything happen to you. Your first thought is one of gratitude. At least someone is fighting for you. The second thought is: how you thought Wheeljack was completely indifferent, didn't actually care._

"_The only thing that would save Phaser right now is if some or all of the Astro Squad decided to wake up and their sparks work together. Phaser's spark is too weak to handle the stress; you can't take five parts of us away and expect the remaining part to still function." Perceptor deadpans, almost giving you the feeling of chills running up and down your spine._

"_So if one of Phaser's bond mates was still alive then Phaser might have a chance?"_

"_Only one mate still being alive would be upping the odds, but not enough to keep the spark online."_

"_But there is a better chance?" Wheeljack urges. In the back of your mind you are wondering why this has to do with anything. If your mates are dead, then how can one of them save you?_

_Of course since they are gone, this completely answers the question of why you feel like killing yourself. Losing a bond mate is the hardest thing any Cybertronian has to bear. Losing five amplifies things a little._

"_There is a chance, though not a very good one." Perceptor answers, though you can tell the mech is curious about this line of questioning. _

"_Then bond the two of us."_

_Time seems to stand still. You wonder if you just heard that right. Wheeljack just asked Perceptor to bond with you so you can live. _

"_You must have some sort of glitch in your CPU to even suggest something like that." Perceptor says, in a warning tone._

"_My only glitch was not going after Phaser years before. I don't know what I feel at the moment, but I do know I'm going to regret everything if Phaser dies before I find out." _

"_So this is all for your selfish reasons?" Perceptor asks. _

"_I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Wheeljack snarls. You can almost feel the heat that is mixing between the two. One thinking with their heart; the other with their head. _

"_Bonding is a permanent solution to anything, so don't tell me you have no idea, when this is the only thought you can come up with. If you bond to Phaser and Phaser dies, then you stand a good chance of dying too because of the bond being so new." Perceptor growls, completely out of character._

_You hear nothing for a few minutes, except the humming of your systems. Then Wheeljack speaks again._

"_Either you bond the two of us, or I'll do it myself." There is no emotion to the response, it's neither hot nor cold, but it causes your spark to quake slightly. _

_You try, desperately to let the mechs know you are able to hear everything they are talking about. You don't want someone to potentially sacrifice themselves just to see if you can remain online. Too much death has already occurred._

_You hear a kind of struggle going on in the room and realize more than the three mechs had to have been in here with you. You can hear Wheeljack using every foul word in the Cybertronian dictionary._

"_This is a rather undignified reaction Wheeljack. Stay away from this lab for a while. If Phaser wakes up, I'll call you." You hear Perceptor say, though you can hear a hint of sorrow in the words._

"_You're rather sparkless at times Perceptor." You hear Wheeljack snarl as a door opens and closes, loudly._

_For a moment you think you are alone; then you hear Erector speak up. "What are the odds of a bond between the two of them working?"_

"_Statistically not very good." You hear Perceptor answering the question as if conflict is going on. "Though, Phaser shouldn't be alive right now at all, so maybe it would be a little bit better. I don't know."_

_You ponder these words as you feel your limbs being moved around. Perceptor must be doing some tests on you. The thing at the forefront of your mind as you slip back into unconsciousness is: what is the real reason Wheeljack offered to become your bond mate. There is some underlining reason, but you can't grasp it._

GG GG GG GG GG

""Ugh."" You complain into the bond, or at least what you think is the bond. You're not sure what happened.

What did happen? Went to speak to the hologram in Wheeljack's lab. No, didn't quite make it that far. Ravage! That overgrown pussy cat was there taunting you. What did you do?!

""Phaser?"" You hear a hesitant question. You think it's Heave.

""Yeah?"" You answer back.

""You're alive?"" Comes the most stunned question you've ever heard.

""Apparently."" You sigh. You go back to the time of detonating the device. Ravage said you'd be dead if you pulled that lever. That was a wrong assessment. If you're still hearing your bond mates then you must still be alive.

""What in the pit did you do? We all felt as if you were wrenched from our sparks, in fact I'm currently the only one who is awake, everyone else is sleeping.""

""I…"" You try to think about what was going through your mind. Was it killing Decepticons? No. Was it saving the planet? No. What was it? ""I don't quite know."" You say into the bond.

""Well I can honestly say that I'd miss you if you had died. I don't think I felt like that even when my creator was killed.""

""I'm sorry Heave. I don't know what I was thinking."" You say, sadly. You think for a moment, trying to remember what your last thought was.

"It's amazing Phaser made it through that." You hear someone say. It sounds like Perceptor.

"This young one has been looking for an out for over two Earth years. I had no idea a bond was strong enough to keep someone who should be dead, alive." Wait a minute, was that Optimus?

What did Optimus mean; looking for an out? ""I was trying to kill myself."" You say into the bond, like the answer was right there in front of you the whole time.

""What do you mean?"" Heave asks, worried.

""Just a minute. Optimus and Perceptor are talking.""

"Phaser's bond mates are the ones keeping Phaser alive right now. If they blocked off the bond on both ends, Phaser would offline almost instantly." Perceptor tells Optimus.

"Can Phaser hear us right now?" Optimus asks softly.

"I don't think so. There's no indication of consciousness on the monitors." Perceptor says. You feel your arm being raised slightly and then put on your chest, next to your spark. "It's amazing what a bond can do to a person."

"Is that why you have these six new volunteers, because you're thinking of doing this again?" Optimus asks, almost with an air of incredulity.

"Strikedown came to me a few days after we found Phaser and asked about it. Seems the mech has five others who want to do the experiment too. I am perfectly happy do this on another group. It's had positive results so far."

No! Your mind shouts out. Sure it's an interesting study, but don't let others do this until you are completely sure of the repercussions. Right now you'd like to smack Perceptor upside the head for thinking such a thing.

""Heave, tell Strikedown about this project. Seems there are six others who want to try this bond thing."" You tell your bond mate.

""Phaser!""

""Hello Moonrock."" You answer your happy mate.

""We thought you died, don't ever do that again.""

""I'm sorry."" You tell anyone who is awake, who just happens to be Heave and Moonrock.

You shut out Moonrock's jabber for a moment and think about what both Perceptor and Prime had said. Prime brought up suicide, though it did take out a number of Con's, didn't it?

""Heave, did I take out any Decepticons with that blast?""

""About eleven, at last count. It's been over ten rotations since you went on your field trip."" Heave answers you. You can tell both of your bond mates are trying to get information from you.

You stop talking again and block out Moonrock telling you what happened when you were hurt, how all five of them became rather lethargic. You know that had to have been because your bond was open.

If you close the bond on both ends, you will die. The question is do you want to die? You try to find a reason for dying and it jumps out at you full force. Wheeljack. There was the reason you didn't care if you died. You wanted to be with Wheeljack.

""Phaser?"" You can hear Heave question your sudden bout of emotions.

""I want to die."" You say, letting all of your grief flood through the bond into your bond mates.

""Why?""

""Because I miss Wheeljack. I can't do this, it wouldn't be fair to any of you."" You say, on the verge of crying in your mind.

""That's a selfish reason."" Heave tells you.

""I know, but it's what I want.""

You try to pull back the emotions that are coursing through the very energy of your existence. You don't want your bond mates to be overwhelmed.

""We're not about to let you die, we need you.""

""That's just the thing, you don't need me. There are others out there who want to do this project now and I'm sure there's someone who wouldn't mind being part of an already created team.""

""You're talking is being run by your pain. Don't let your pain run you."" Heave says, inviting your other bond mates into the discussion. Your emotional outburst has woken them up.

""We're not going to let you die, not if we can save you."" Blast Master says calmly.

""Have any of you ever loved someone so much, you just wanted to die when they did. Like those dogs in "Where the Red Fern Grows"?"" You ask your bond mates.

""You don't need to die though, you need to live and stay with us."" Barrage says, crying at your desires within the bond.

""Wheeljack is waiting for me, or this out wouldn't have presented itself. None of you will die; I'll just cease to exist."" You plead.

For what seems like hours, there is silence. You know your bond mates are probably talking out loud wherever they are located. You try to push how selfish you are being out of your mind and concentrate on why you want to leave. Is love worth it? Is anything worth dying for?

You can hear Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak in your room, speaking with Perceptor. They are asking when you'll be coming around, and you want to cry out in shame that you think it's alright to leave the three of them and your bond mates for someone else.

You try to reason with yourself. Eventually you will die, everything does, even Primus will die some day. You can live out a full life with your bond mates, helping the Autobot cause and making Wheeljack proud of your accomplishments.

But, how can you possibly ignore this act of fate? Surely it was providence that you were injured enough to die, without hurting your bond mates. Or at least allowing them to live. Ironhide had lived the loss of a bond mate. Your bond mates would still have each other.

You again listen to the trio of terror; telling you about what they've been doing. Bluestreak has been working on getting permission to go and visit G'Roythia when you wake up. Sunstreaker tells you about a new painting of the Astro Squad that is now up in the gallery. Sideswipe is telling you about helping Daniel get his drivers license.

You desperately want to wake up and tell them about your desires. If anyone could understand, these three would be able to. They were your closest friends, bar Wheeljack when you first came on board.

""Phaser?"" You hear Blast Master ask you hesitantly.

""I'm still here."" You tell your worried bond mates. You can feel the fear radiating off each of them at the thought of losing you. Wait a minute. They are all worried about losing you.

""We've…decided to let you go Phaser, because you'd do the same for us, no questions asked."" You hear a choking voice say. You can tell Blast Master is having a hard time with your wish.

""Really?"" You ask, excitement and despair washing over you at the same time.

""None of us want to lose you, that is a unanimous decision. But we'd probably lose you anyway and at least this is on our terms."" You can hear the sadness dripping off every word and you hold back a sighing sob.

""I don't want to lose you either."" You sob into the bond, losing control. ""But look what happened to me before. I didn't take an opportunity and I had to live with my decision. I don't want to lose 'Jack a second time.""

""There's just one condition."" You hear Missile Master say. You cringe, hoping it won't be something that is impossible. ""When you find Wheeljack, you never let that mech go again.""

""I can do that."" You cry softly. You know none of your bond mates would even know how to cry if it weren't for you, but they are all crying with you. ""Will you tell Bluestreak, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker bye for me?""

""I'll do that."" Moonrock barely gets out.

""I'll miss you all."" You say.

""We'll miss you too kid."" You hear Blast Master say, and there is a consensus from everyone else.

Slowly, one at a time, each of your bond mates blocks out the bond. Each one dropping off causes your spark to wrench in pain. Soon it is you and Heave left alone in the bond.

""I never thought I'd say this, but good luck. If it weren't for you, I'd probably have no problem with killing any organic I saw, just out of spite."" Heave tells you.

This causes you to laugh slightly. ""I'm glad I could help."" You say.

Heave drops out of the bond, again causing mild agony. You're sure each one of your bond mates is having the same feeling, so you decide to make this quick.

"Forgive me Primus, for I am about to allow myself to die without a fight." You slowly close off the bond on your end.

As the bond completely closes, you hear all manner of alarms going off in your head and in the room. You can hear each of your three friends start to swear in various languages and you can hear Perceptor push someone out of the way.

"Phaser!" You can feel Perceptor pick sit you up and shake you slightly. "Phaser, don't you dare die on us." Perceptor hollers at you like it's going to do some good.

You feel yourself being pulled, but not by Perceptor, or anyone else. You feel your energy start to filter back into your spark from the body you occupy, almost like when you had done the bond.

Within seconds, you can no longer see, but you can feel. You feel your spark closing in on itself, you are closing in on yourself. There is a mild amount of pain, probably from the lack of bond, but outside of that, the feeling is neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

"Good bye." You say into nothingness.

GG GG GG GG GG

"_Phaser, can you hear me?" You hear in your head. _

"_Wheeljack?" You ask. _

"_You're still in there?"_

"_I though Perceptor told you not to come to the room?" You say, realizing you are talking internally, not externally. _

"_If Ratchet were alive, I'd be dismantled for spare parts for what I'm here to do." Wheeljack says. You can feel the mech slide onto the berth with you; an arm is draped protectively over you._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_There's almost no chance of survival for you, but if we were bonded, it would increase the chances." You can hear the urgency in Wheeljack's voice._

"_Wait, how did you get in here?" You ask, ignoring the fact that Wheeljack just asked you to become bonded partners so soon after your mates have died._

"_Remember how I told you I was compared to MacGyver?"_

"_I can't believe you remember that." You say, rather amazed. "Why do you want to bond with me?" You ask; the fact that you are tired apparent in your question._

"_Because I know we are meant to be together, call it fate or destiny. I have a feeling, in another universe we ended up together right after we met and I've thought about that possibility."_

_You laugh. "Don't tell me you believe in alternate realities." _

"_Don't tell me you don't believe." Wheeljack says seriously. "I knew we were meant to be together right about the time you threw up in front of me."_

_You start to giggle internally. "What a great first meeting that was. Can you imagine what we'd tell the kids; we met when I vomited. Great story for the grandkids too."_

"_We won't get to have kids like yours on Earth." _

"_I don't care if I have to wait almost a decade and a half to see my kids again, they will know you as one of their parents." You say with so much conviction it startles you._

_You can hear Wheeljack's intakes stall. "Does that mean you accept?"_

"_I do, but aren't we going to get into trouble, isn't this dangerous if it's just the two of us?" You ask, too out of it to be concerned. Truthfully, you are too out of it to be making a decision like this right now anyway. _

"_I expect us both to be brought before the High Council for courts martial."_

"_Great way to start!" You laugh. "How do we do this, god I feel like a virgin again, we should have Madonna playing in the back ground."_

"_Go back into your spark, like the first time you had done this. When Perceptor comes in, we'll let the mech separate us again."_

"_Okay." You concentrate on removing all the energy from your body and opening your spark chamber. As you have done this before, the feeling of being removed doesn't scare you too much._

_It doesn't take two seconds for you to feel like you've been enveloped by the ocean._

""_Are you okay?"" You ask Wheeljack when you can't hear the mech._

""_This is the most incredible experience."" Wheeljack breathes at you from all around. You laugh, fully understanding where 'Jack is coming from._

""_It gets better."" You say, opening up all of yourself to the mech. Soon both of you are being bombarded with each other's lives. _

_You see the mechs Wheeljack worked with who only spoke using Morse Code. Wheeljack can see when you brought your kids home from the hospital. Everything you had wanted to ask about your ten year separation bombards you._

_It doesn't take much for all of your energy to feel drained and soon you murmur, ""I'm going to fall asleep.""_

""_Right behind you."" Wheeljack says to you, right as you slip into recharge, still merged with your new bond mate. _

11


	17. Beginnings

Beginnings

_The first thing you think about when you come out of recharge is: was that real? The second is: how long have I been out? You turn on your optics and look around, wondering if any of it actually happened. _

_You feel like all of your energy is depleted. You try to raise your hand, but that doesn't amount to much, so you turn your head to the side. You see Perceptor over in the corner of the room._

"_Perceptor?" You croak, vocalizer sputtering to life._

_You watch Perceptor pad over to your side and look at you. You watch as your arms and legs are moved, then Perceptor sits you up. You feel like you're going to fall over, but Perceptor holds steady._

_After a few more minutes of movement, Perceptor lays you back down, only this time on your side, so you can watch. _

"_I assume you actually agreed to Wheeljack's bond idea and you weren't forced." Perceptor says, hooking you up to an energon dispenser. _

"'_Jack never forced me to do anything." You say, trying to keep the offensive tone out of your words._

"_I didn't say 'Jack forced you, just that I assume there was mutual concession. Autobots have more integrity than that, I hope." Perceptor puts a hand over your head, like your mother used to do when feeling for a temperature. _

"_Where is Wheeljack?" You ask in the most tired voice you've ever heard._

"_You've been out for almost an Earth month, so Wheeljack is probably in the quarters you've been assigned, waiting for you to wake up. Not being able to feel you caused more problems than 'Jack took into account." Perceptor says, rolling you onto your stomach. _

_You feel Perceptor looking at your skin. You notice you don't have your alternate mode, so someone must have turned that program off or removed it. _

""_Wheeljack?"" You ask into the bond, hoping you aren't actually dreaming._

_You don't hear anything from your mate, but you feel 'Jack's presence in your spark. You were out long enough to have gone past the whole "being one" phase. You can feel Wheeljack's presence traveling along your body with your own energy, almost like mapping out each and every crevice of your being._

_This causes you to snort as the movement sends a tingling sensation throughout your being. ""Wheeljack, what are you doing?""_

""_I'm memorizing every part of your existence."" Wheeljack says. ""I was told to leave you alone until you woke up.""_

""_We have the rest of our lives to do that."" You say, holding in a laugh._

""_I'm not taking any chances."" You are utterly shocked at the forwardness of your new bond mate, so you decide to do the exact same thing. You send energy pulses through the bond and attack Wheeljack in the same manner you are being attacked right now. _

_You don't care how exactly you are able to move as you do, but you feel your energy fingers feeling every part of the energy that is your mate and you realize, this is much better than what you had with your bond mates. This must have been what Perceptor and Bumblebee were talking about._

_You continue exploring, but bring your mind back to Perceptor's lab. The mech is currently removing your energon line. You watch as Perceptor picks you up and places you on a table, then turns on a projector that creates a three dimensional image a few feet above you._

_You watch as Perceptor looks carefully at your insides, without actually cutting into you. You can see the different energies within your chassis and you can actually make out where Wheeljack is still mapping out._

"_You should tell that twitterpated mech to let me check you out before you two explore one another."_

_This causes you to start cackling. "Did you really just say twitterpated?" You ask in between cackles. _

"_Blame that on Rewind. Mech was in here watching "Bambi" earlier and that word, although ridiculous, stuck in my vocabulary." Perceptor says with the air of a mech who needs a good recharge. _

"_I will have to thank Rewind for that, I needed a good laugh." You say, telling Wheeljack about the conversation you just had with Perceptor._

"_What's it like?" Perceptor asks while magnifying your hologram._

"_What's what like?" You ask._

"_Being bonded to someone who actually cares for you, as opposed to five strangers who volunteered."_

_You think about that one for a moment, trying to see if there is one word you can use to describe the sensation. There are so many differences, yet just as many similarities._

"_I think the feelings Wheeljack and I share are mutual, but I'll always care about my bond mates. With Wheeljack, I don't feel the need to know how to use the block Sunstreaker and Sideswipe showed me. I don't know if this is what love is supposed to feel like because I never felt this way with Kelsey, but I look forward to finding out."_

_You try to think back to your life before this but after meeting the Autobots for the first time. You didn't really love Kelsey; in fact you can't say you outright love your kids, especially if this is what love is supposed to bring about. _

_Wheeljack sends a vibe across the energy that connects the two of you, telling you that this actually surpasses what humans think of as love. There isn't a human out there who would be willing to put themselves in this position, unless they were extremely uneducated about the process. _

""_That would be me, before and after the bond."" You say. ""That block is the only thing that kept my sanity.""_

""_Do you want to use the block right now?"" Wheeljack asks. This question, although straightforward, is hiding something, you can feel it. _

_Fear. Fear is hidden within the bond, one that is rooted deep within the core of what the two of you share. The fear is a mutual feeling, not completely based on rejection, but mixed with the fear of regret. _

""_I'm not going to reject you."" You say in the most reassuring tone you can muster. ""I don't regret this either.""_

""_Ditto."" This causes you to laugh and soon Wheeljack joins in._

_The two of you continue to delve deep into the memories that are housed within each other's CPUs. Learning everything about one another, all the while making you stronger. _

_Perceptor speaking to you brings you back out of the pool of memories. _

"_We have another group of volunteers; they call themselves the Metro Squad. They're stationed on Earth." Perceptor informs you. You can tell the mech is interested in your opinion on the matter._

"_I'm not doing that again. I can't stand to lose any more bond mates. Five was enough." You watch Perceptor take an even closer look. "Is Wheeljack going to lose me?" You ask nervously. _

"_The radiation has been evicted. Baring either of you dying any time in the near future, you should both be fine." Perceptor turns off the projector and moves you back to the berth._

""_Wheeljack, I'm going to be okay."" You say excitedly. There is a burst of energy as you feel Wheeljack embrace you through the bond. _

""_Can I come get you now, or will they throw me in the brig again?"" _

_You laugh out loud, causing Perceptor to look at you quizzically. You shake your head slightly and say, "Wheeljack."_

_Perceptor nods and walks out of the room._

""_They threw you in the brig for that?"" You ask, wondering if you'll succumb to the same fate when you're mobile again. _

""_I doubt they'll throw you in the brig now, but at least I had company. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe tried that Traalian water again and were running around here in the nude, offending people. I'm not sure what Sideswipe did to get Sunny to go along with that, but both of them said it was worth it.""_

_This causes you to laugh again. You get a mental image of the three of them singing and dancing like that chick in the second Bridget Jones movie. This mental picture also causes Wheeljack to laugh. _

""_What are we going to do now?"" You ask, wondering if you will still be required to be a front line fighter._

""_You'll be released from duty permanently, or at least until you're ready to return. I'm free to do whatever, unless there's an emergency. We can do whatever you want."" You get a mental picture of Wheeljack lounging on a berth, in the same position you are currently in._

""_I want to help Bluestreak."" You say, without missing a beat. ""Then I want to see my kids. I want you to do everything with me. I want you to help me make my first invention.""_

_There is no vocal answer, but you can feel Wheeljack in your spark, so you don't push words. The two of you lay in silence for a while longer, just enjoying each other's presence._

""_I think I'll be there to pick you up shortly, Perceptor just knocked on the door."" Wheeljack tells you. You smile and mentally nudge 'Jack off the comfortable berth to make that long trip to where you are waiting._

4


End file.
